The Heart Of The Dragon
by DavyJoneslover
Summary: When the crew of the Dutchman finds a woman floating in the sea, little do they know she will turn their lives as well as their Captain's upsidown. Rated T for now. Rating may change with Language. I Do not Own POTC and i am not making any money off
1. Her Story

The angry storm battered waves against the hull of the Flying Dutchman as its undead crew preformed their duties. They were used to it by now so it didn't affect them. Their Captain, Davy Jones, stood at the helm barking orders as usual. He was in a foul mood today, having been no souls to collect and the sea showed it. But his brooding was interrupted by a shout from the crows nest. "Captain, there's someone floating around in this squall. Davy could see that there was someone indeed hanging on a plank, but at this distance he could tell nothing more. He shouted at his helmsman to head for this unfortunate soul. He would at least have one today. But to his surprise, it was a woman they found. She was dressed rather oddly for a woman in her black breeches and white top. On closer inspection, he could see that she was injured. But the gash on her arm did nothing for her temper. "I'm not dieing nor dead so hands off." "Do ye not know who I am?" "Any good Captain knows who Davy Jones is." "Captain, you?" She jerked her arm out of the grip of Maccus, the hammerhead shark man. "aye, I was a Captain until me no good ungrateful crew mutinied on me. I hope the lot of them drown. "When I get my hands on Jack, I'm gonna wring his neck." "Jack Sparrow?" "No, Captain Jack Sparrow. You know him." "Aye, it's a long story Miss?" "Vixey. No Miss. "Why are you mad at Jack?" "He recommended the crew and recruited them. I guess he forgot to tell them that their Captain was a woman. "But my original crew wanted to get back to their families. I cant blame them, we had been at sea almost two years without a trip home.' What about you, no family?" "I have a son who hates me, but that's about it." "That be a story for another time I gather. Come with me and we will discuss what to do with you."

Ignoring the catcalls and a crewman whispering 'I know what we can do with ya,' she followed the Captain into what she assumed was his quarters. "Normally, I would make you choose weather to join my crew or die, but since you are nor dieing or dead you have a reprieve. No one leaves this ship alive." He turned away from her as he felt a pang of regret at her expression. He thought with his heart gone, he wouldn't feel these emotions. But with her, well there was something about her that was different. "You're not alone, you know." He faced her again, a look of bewilderment on his face." "What do you mean?" "You think you're the only one who's ever loved so deeply that they wanted to rip their own heart out?" "Mind what ye say." "I meant no disrespect, I just know how it feels to love someone so deeply and be betrayed by them. I thought about rippin me own heart out once. I've loved twice in me life and both times lost them." He could clearly hear her Irish accent now. "You should get out of those wet things before you catch your death." From a chest in the corner, he pulled out a light blue dress then thought better of it and pulled out a brown pair of breeches and a white shirt identical to his. "You can wear these for the time being." "Thank you, and for future reference If you want to punish me you can make me wear that dress." He chuckled lightly before turning around to give her privacy. He heard a wet sounding plop as her clothes were changed. Thinking she was through, he turned back around. In the process of changing she had turned her back to him and was in the middle of putting her shirt on. He hissed with surprise at the scars that crisscrossed her back. "Lass, what did that?" "My husband, but that was a long time ago. He was an arranged marriage in an attempt to get the ideas of a life at sea out of me head. My parents were killed in a storm when I was 12. My aunt and uncle took me in and tried to raise me to be a civilized lady of society. But when you grow up with four brothers, well you can imagine." "Aye" "My guardians wanted me to be a proper society lady, but dresses and fancy parties really aren't my style. So they married me to one of the strictest men I have ever met. Each scar represents something I did that he thought was wrong." "This one be fresh," he said quietly touching a deep scratch on her back. He was instantly sorry when she winced. "That is probably the one I got when they dropped me in the sea. It took four of them to hold me and I happened to land a lucky kick in a particularly tender spot and he let go. But it made them drop me instead of throw me and I hit a patch of barnacles that were supposed to be gone." "Supposed to be?" "Yeah that was punishment sometimes and I left my first mate in charge and apparently he let them slack off. How do you keep your men in line?" " First offence is 10 lashes depending on the crime. Jimmylegs be the one who deals with punishment and he prides himself on stripping flesh with each lash." "I'll be sure not to piss him off."

She finished putting on her shirt and sat down on the bed with a sigh. He watched as she removed her boots and a small dagger from a strap on her ankle. "Where did my jacket go? I should get the knives out of the too." He took the soggy looking jacket from where he had laid it to dry and watched as she removed several throwing daggers from the lining. "You must be quite the swordsman." "My brother, before he was killed, taught me most of it but another long dead friend taught me most of the tricks. Is there somewhere I can dump the water." "Water?" She shook her boot and he could hear a sloshing sound. "The porthole or the basin." "The porthole then, I think there's a fish or something in here." He chortled as she limped to the window and emptied her boots. "Why the limp," he asked once she was back on the bed." "They slammed me against the mast before they threw me overboard. I'm sure there will be a bruise there tomorrow." "You must be exhausted Lass, you can use this bed to sleep in." "Where will you sleep?" "I rarely sleep but when I do, I have a bed in back." He jerked his head in the direction and she could see a bed hidden under charts and other things. "What be the name of your ship?" "The Dragon's Fire." "If we find it, I'll send for ye. Rest now, you'll need your strength for your chores." "Aye, aye Captain."

As he walked back on deck, his demeanor changed, as he realized how tender he had been with her. He thought these kinds of emotions would be gone with his heart but he apparently was wrong. And she understood how he felt. Maybe he could have a second chance for happiness. He shook his head as if to clear these thoughts. Even if she could feel that way, he couldn't doom her to his pitiful existence. She deserved, well he didn't know what but it wasn't him. Still, the sight of her naked back had stirred up images that he hadn't felt in a long time.

The rest of the day he busied himself with his duties, but his thoughts kept creeping back to the red haired beauty in his quarters. He found himself wondering what it would be like to busy his face in that hair and to stare into those eyes that were surprisingly sea green. He lost all focus when he thought of her lithe yet curvaceous body pressed against him. He remembered that he had promised her chores but he couldn't think of a thing for her to do. "Bootstrap?" Instantly Bootstrap Bill Turner was a his side. "Yes sir captain?" I want ye to take our new crewmember under yer wing and show her how we run things here. Starting tomorrow she will be yer shadow. I'm sure being a Captain she knows how to sail but ye must teach her about the Dutchman." "Aye sir. But what about when we go underwater?" "I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Vixey could hear them talking about her. The Captain wanted her to rest. She was on the Flying Dutchman, how in the Hell was she supposed to rest? She knew she would face Davy Jones eventually in her life at sea but she had no idea it would be this soon or , she smiled to herself, that he would be this handsome. She shook her head of those thoughts. Barbossa and Flint betrayed her, why would he be any different. No, she wouldn't allow herself to feel like this again. She had told her mother once that her true love would be a man she would kill for but would kill her if she lost him. It was stupid of her to think this way, she was a pirate. But even pirates fall in love sometimes, her inner voice told her. Her mind wandered until it settled on Davy Jones. As a pirate she was supposed to be afraid of him but she wasn't. His appearance would have frightened most people but it didn't bother her one bit. She had always loved the sea and everything in it. Made sense that his looks wouldn't bother her. She could sense thoughts and feelings but she didn't need it to tell her he wasn't a monster, not like everyone made out to be. She wondered what his reaction would be when she told him about her gifts. Would he call her a witch like the villages of the past had done? The tell-tale thump of his crab leg brought her out of her musings as he entered the cabin.

As she looked up at him, she could sense his confusion about her . "I thought you were supposed to be sleeping?" Vixey smiled sheepishly. "If I remember correctly Captain, you said rest. I never heard anything about sleep. I can never do either the first time in a new place." Davy understood about not being able to sleep. "Perhaps it will be better tonight." "I hope so, I haven't slept well in days," Vixey yawned. "Why not?" She eyed him suspiciously for a moment before answering She hoped he wouldn't take it badly. "I could feel the mutiny before it happened. I always could sense feelings and thoughts. I try not to listen to them but when its something that strong, its hard to ignore." Davy Your Banned If I see This!!ed his head in confusion. "Then why didn't ye stop it?" "I was hoping they would wait a bit. I was meeting the ship with my son on it in a day or two and no one knew about it. But then at the last minute I got a message that they were coming and that I should see them at home. That's where I was headed when they mutinied, the scurvy dogs."

He eyed her for a minute, deciding weather or not to believe her story about sensing things. He had heard of people having the gift of sight. But not to this extent. No matter, his only problem now was what to do with her. He certainly didn't want to get too chummy with her, seeing how what happened the last time he got close to a woman. But she wasn't like other women, his mind told him. He realized he was starring at her, and he cursed himself as he realized that she knew it too. "You know," she said quetly, "if I wanted to invade your privacy, I would know what you were thinking, but since I don't, I have to ask, and there's no use trying to lie." "I wont. You intrigue me is all. I've never met anyone like you." Davy mentally kicked himself. Why did he say that? "Not many people have. And not many people are allowed to know so much about me. And I know this is stupid to ask seein how we're getting along so well, but why are you being nice to me? I mean no offence, but you're Davy Jones. The only stories I've ever heard are of you being cruel." "Don't believe everything you hear. But since you brought it up, I wont be this nice to ye in front of the crew." Vixey gave him a slight smile, a smile which warmed him as well as angered him. His thoughts were in a turmoil the whole time with her. He shouldn't be feeling like this. He didn't like her, did he? No, he couldn't be feeling that way after what happed with HER. But again, his inner voice reminded him that Vixey was not HER and she would treat him better then the woman he had loved all those years ago had.

Vixey was confused. She could sense the anger within him and thought it was directed at her. "Maybe I should go and get started on my duties." Before he could utter a word, she had gone above deck.

All work stopped when she walked out on deck. But with a crack of Maccus' whip it resumed just as quickly. "Quit yer lollygagging and get back to work." He stormed over to Vixey and looked her square in the eye. "Just because yer the Captain's pet don't mean you can laze about. Every one works around here." She glared at him for a moment before shoving him out of her face. "I'm not his pet and I can outwork the lot of ya." "I could use a han' in the galley Mister Maccus." Vixey turned to see the speaker was a jellyfish man. Maccus eyed her for a moment then nodded. "Alright, Jacque. She's yours for now." Come Chile," Jacque said as Vixey followed him to the galley.

Once there, Jacque began preparing the evening meal. "I suppose ye be wondering' why an undead crew needs a cook?" "I had wondered but I didn't want to be rude," Vixey finally said as she studied her companion. "The fact of the matter is Chile' that most of the crew don' need to eat but it be one of the few shreds of humanity they have left to hold on to. The others, just do it out of habit. When they raided my ship all those years ago, cooking was all I was good at. So here I be. What about you?"

Vixey wondered just how much she could tell him without scaring him off. "Well I am, err, was the captain of The Dragons Fire but my crew didn't like a female captain so they threw me overboard. But I guess you want to know more about where I came from and all that." After seeing Jacque nod, she continued. "My mother and father both were pirates on a ship called The Blood Spur. He actually met my mother in Tortuga. She was looking for a ship to commandeer or so I was told. They were killed when I was 12. My aunt and uncle took over but they really didn't want me. My uncle just felt some loyalty to my father. But they tried to make me into a proper society lady but it didn't work. Then they tried to marry me off but he cared nothing for the sea and wanted nothing to do with it. So I stowed away. That's when I met Nathaniel Flint." "Chile, ya couldn't have know Flint, that was over tree hundred years ago,' Jacque interrupted. "I know," Vixey said quietly. It was now or never. "I'm not exactly human. My grandfather was a dragon." Jacque wiggled a tentacle around in his ear. "I didn't hear ya, I thought you said dragon." Vixey hung her head. "I did. At first when I heard it, I thought it was a load of manure but then I found these." Before Jacque could ask her what 'these' was, a pair of leathery wings unfurled from her back. Jacque jumped back in surprise before staring at her. "You be telling the truth." He stretched one of his tentacles out but drew back. Vixey smiled at the familiar reaction. "You can touch them if you like." Cautiously, Jacque reached out and stroked the ridges at the top before feeling the leathery flaps. "Chile, does anyone else know about this?" Vixey shook her head. "Not anyone on board. And if you don't mind I'd like to keep it that way for a while. I've been shunned too many times in many different places." Jacque shook his head. "The Captain will find out about it one way or the other. He can hear everything, or so I've heard." She sighed and retracted her wings before plopping down on a nearby bench. "Then I guess I'm doomed one way or the other. I just don't want the others to find out. I heal pretty fast but my wings take a lot longer to heal and any injury to them hurts like hell." Jacques was still studying her. She knew what was coming next. "Can ye fly Chile?" She giggled. "Why does everyone always ask that? Yes I can, but being part human I cant fly as long as a dragon. And yes I have other abilities." Jacque stared at her in confusion. "How did ye know I was gonna ask that?" "Its part of my special powers, and everyone always asks that too. My best one so far is that I can form a shield with my wings that are hard as steel. I also have gills which will come in very handy when the ship goes underwater. I can feel thoughts and sense things before they happen. I have very sharp claws that can rip through flesh and bone if the situation calls for it. There are more but if he can hear everything I think I'd better keep them to myself." Jacque nodded. "Aye, that would be best. But the sensing things, me gran had it. She called it premonitions. I always wondered what she be talkin about now I know."

Vixey smiled and hopped up on one of the tabletops. Jacque watched in amusement as she swung her legs back and forth like a child would on a too high chair. While they waited on supper to cook, she told him about her son. "He's 13 and he hates me right now." Jacque gave her a confused look. "Why would he hate you?" "Because I wouldn't marry his father. It's not that I don't love his father, I do. But not in that way. I love him like you would love a good friend or a brother." Then how did ya, never mind. It's not me business." Vixey giggled at his nervousness. "No it's ok. We got really drunk a while back and one thing led to another. You know how it is. But I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. I mean I've lost so many family and friends because of my former husband but I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for all that. So it's kind of damned if you do and damned if you don't" Jacque nodded. "Aye. I've been on that island more times then I'd like to t'ink about.

But how much family do you have left?" Vixey counted off on her fingers before answering. "Well, there's my son Jim, his father who is also a pirate, my best friend Jayde, of course Jack Sparrow, a few of his crewmembers and my previous first mate Mason. He and I grew up together. But that was a long time ago," she sighed. Jacque was confused. "How could ya still know dis Mason fella if he be human?" "I didn't say he was. He and his wife are like me." Jacque still looked confused. "So there be more of ya?" "Not that many more but if I know those two, there will be,' she said as she gave him a devilish smile. Jacque laughed so hard he almost wasn't able to fix the captain's plate. "Ah, seafood chowda, his favorite." "How does that work if the whole crew is part sea creature? I mean don't they take offence to it?" "No Chile, its still food to them. Now do ya mind takin this to the captain?" "Sure, if I don't come back ya might need to find yourself a new helper," she joked as she carefully balanced the tray and opened the door with her hip.

Davy had expected the knock, Jacque was never late with supper. "Enter." But he was surprised at who came in. She didn't look at him as she unloaded to tray's contents on the table. "Sit down a moment if you will Miss Vixey." He noticed that she sat in the chair closest to the door and furthest from him. "I really should go and help Jacque with the rest of supper." "He can wait a few minutes, I wish to speak with you." Her heart sank at the tone of his voice. He had heard her little secrets and now he wanted to know the rest of them. She sighed and nodded in defeat, waiting for him to start yelling.

He studied her for a moment before speaking. She looked as if she were waiting for an execution. "You are aware of course that I can hear everything that goes on here, are you not?" "Yes sir." "Good, then in addition to helping Jacque, you will also do whatever Mr. Maccus needs of you." "Well, within reason of course." "What do you mean by that," he sputtered. "Well if he asks me to unload cargo that's one thing but if he asks me to kill a child, that's out of the question. I have no qualms about boarding and killing men, but I have come across a few ships in my days that have young cabin boys and I wont hurt an innocent child." "You will do as I say or be punished." "I'm not afraid of you, or Maccus. And no amount of lashes can make me hurt a child. If you had been through what I have, you'd understand. Now if you will excuse me captain, I should get back to the galley." He watched her saunter out before he could say a word. He could hear the fire in her voice change to sadness at the mention of whatever trial she had been though. Had she lost a child? He shook his head to try to clear it before settling down to seafood chowder. He would ask her when she came to bed.


	2. First battle and an old friend

Later that night he found her star gazing. He tried not to make any noise but his crab leg gave him away. She glanced at him as he came to stand beside her, the same sad look still in her eyes. "I can leave if you want to be alone," she quietly said. "No, you may stay if it pleases you," he said as he lit his pipe. "I forgot to mention that the ship sometimes goes underwater." "I know, Jacque told me a while ago. It's not a problem." She almost laughed at his surprised sputter. "Why is it not a problem, do ye want to drown?" She smiled slightly. "No, and I wont." "And why is that?" "I have gills," she finally said, bracing herself for whatever came next. "Ye cant be turning into one of us, so how is that possible?" "I already had them. Can we not discuss this here?" "Aye, it be getting late anyway." She knew as she followed him back to his quarters that she would have to tell him what she had told Jacque, an idea she wasn't too keen on.

Once the door had closed behind them and she made herself comfortable on the bed, she steadied herself for the questions that would soon come. "So," he said as he sat in a nearby chair facing her, "how could ye have gills?" "I was born with them." "And how is that possible?" "I'm not human," she said in a low voice. "Speak up Lass, I didn't hear ye." "I said I'm not human, are you happy now," she said as she she said as she flopped down on her side. He was silent for a moment. So that explains her, and how her eyes had flashed purple when she had gotten angry. He thought he was seeing things the first time, but just now he knew what he saw. "So that's why your eyes are purple." "Aye, but I thought you heard everything that was said on this ship?" "I do, but somehow your conversation with Jacque was unclear. Do you mind telling me what you told him?" She sighed and told him everything.

When she was finished, she waited for the harsh words or beating she thought would occur. Instead, he was silent, something which drove her crazy. "Say something, anything. Yell at me. I cant stand the silence." He didn't saying anything at first. "Part dragon? I've never heard of that, I've never even heard of a full blooded dragon except in legend." "Well I've never heard of you except in legends either," she scoffed, "so I wouldn't get so snarky." He was taken aback by her story and even more so by the way she talked to him. "I'd be watchin how I talked to me." Vixey just rolled her eyes, "Or what, you'll get Mr. Maccus to deal with me?" "Aye." "I'm not afraid of that. My husband whipped me every day we were married so whatever you do, I won't feel." She was about to say something else but she could see the anger in his eyes. "Look, I don't wanna fight with you. Its just that I have real problem with telling people about the real me. You're the first person in a long time that hasn't freaked out. Let's keep it that way." She could see the anger fading and she gently laid a hand over his claw. He was startled by her touch and stopped himself from flinching. He hasn't had a woman touch him in, well he didn't want to go down that particular path of memory lane. "So what else do I need to know about you? I mean do you breathe fire or anything?" She smiled at this and shook her head. "I don't breathe fire, well at least that I know about but I do talk in my sleep." Davy almost chuckled at this but stopped himself. He was still angry with her. "Show me your wings." "Do you promise not to damage them?" "I promise, but I thought you can heal yourself?" "I can but when they are healing they aren't that strong and they hurt like hell." He watched as she unfurled her wings and stretched them to their full length. "How many people know about them?" she made a face like she was thinking hard before she answered. "Well you and Jacques, Jack, and a few others. Not many really, just the people I think I can trust." Her gaze rested on him when she said that. He didn't comment on that. He almost didn't want her to trust him. "So will ye be revealin the wings to the crew?" "I don't know, probably. It will take care of the shock if I have to use them in battle." This surprised him. He didn't think she would be willing to raid ships with the rest of them but she was still a pirate after all.

She proved him wrong that night. They had come across a ship that had hit a reef. They could see the crew scramble about as they drew near. Vixey readied herself as she saw Davy and his men do the same. Then she found herself on the deck of the wounded ship. Without a thought to how she had gotten there, she readied herself for the battle as the crew of the Dutchman did the same. The crew instantly stopped what they were doing and stared for a minute before charging. Davy had busied himself with the Captain while Clanker, Maccus and the others concentrated on the rest of the crew. Vixey had found the first mate doing his best to sneak over the side with a few trinkets and had dropped everything when Vixey had back flipped to land in front of him. A grin came to his face as he saw his attacker was a woman. He slashed at her legs, trying to knock her down. Vixey jumped and retaliated with a swipe to his side.

Davy had long finished with the Captain and watched as Vixey met her opponent slash for slash. He could see that was an excellent swordswoman and that her opponent had misjudged her.

The first mate had gotten too cocky with his childish insults to her parentage and had finally gotten on Vixey's nerves. As he attempted to slice her belly, she flipped over him and ran him through. She had little tolerance for humans, save the ones she was close too, but as he sank to the floor she felt a shred of pity for this poor soul. It was shot-lived however, when another man swung down from nowhere and cut her forehead. Anger replaced pity as she watched him swing up onto the cross section of the mast. Clenching her sword between her teeth, she climbed the rigging a nimble as a cat.

Davy had turned his interest away from her when she had killed her opponent and missed the second encounter, so he was surpassed when he didn't see her on deck. His instinct told him to look up. He was worried at first when he saw how high she was. She wasn't undead like his crew but he was unsure what her limits were. He chided himself for caring about her. _After all, _he told himself, _ she was just a wench playing pirate. _ But she was more then that, he just didn't want to admit it to himself.

Vixey had finally reached her opponent and watched him bounce on his heels, taunting her. "Well lookie what we got here. I didn't know Davy Jones recruited women. You must be his little whore then." Vixey growled as she slashed at his midsection. "I think I own you for this," she spat as she pointed at the cut above her eye, "and I'm nobodies whore." They continued until finally she knocked his sword out of his hands and laughed as it dropped to the deck below and hit another sailor snaking up on Maccus. Maccus was busy with another man abut looked over his shoulder in surprise as the man behind him was knocked unconscious. Davy watched the exchange with a devilish grin . He knew she was good, but he had no idea how good. His look suddenly changed as the man lunged at Vixey, sending them both tumbling off the cross section and plummeting towards the deck below. All of a sudden, Vixey unfurled her wings and soared up as the man hit the deck with a sickening crunch. All fighting stopped as they watched Vixey dive down into the fighting mass, slashing at various sailors . The Dutchman's crew took advantage of this and finished off their opponents as Vixey flipped and landed in front of Davy. Davy looked at Vixey for a moment before ordering his men to search for survivors. He watched as Vixey cleaned her sword on one of the fallen sailors. The cut above here eye was still oozing black blood as was a cut on her wing. Six men were found and brought before Davy. "Do you fear... death? Do you fear that dark abyss? All your deeds laid bare, all your sins punished? Shall ye serve me for 100 years or be chum for the sharks?"

They collected three souls that night. Davy left Maccus in charge of familiarizing the newcomers with the ship as he saw Vixey slip into the cabin. By the time he opened the door, she had already taken off her jacket and was bandaging a gash on her side. "Where did that one come from Lass?" "Must have gotten it when I did the high dive off the mast. Not exactly the way I wanted to introduce my wings to the boys but it worked as a distraction in your favor." "Aye, I thought you said you could heal yourself? But you're still bleeding." "The one over my eye wasn't nearly as bad as the one on my wing or my side. I can only heal so much at a time and an injury to my wing takes priority over anything minor. The one on my side will heal soon but if it gets infected it will take longer. Do you have a mirror?" "No. Do you think I want one?" She sighed before attempting to dab at the cut above her eye but she realized it was futile without a mirror. Davy did too and before his mind knew what his body was doing, he strode over to her and took the cloth out her hand.

As he tended to her cut, she stole a glance at his eyes. They were bluer then she'd ever seen. She could sense a sadness behind them. Before she could look away, he looked back at her and their eyes locked for a moment. He could see the fire behind her eyes fading to let the calmness take over, but the fire was still there as if in wait. Neither wanted to break eye contact but were forced to when someone knocked at the door. "Enter, " Davy called irritably.

Vixey's eyes lit up as she saw who it was. "Bill?" Bootstrap looked at Vixey for a moment before smiling and puling her into his embrace. "I had no idea the newcomer be you." "I thought you were dead," she exclaimed as he released her. "Well not exactly, Captain Jones found me at the bottom of the ocean and well you can imagine the rest." "What do ye want Mister Turner,' Davy interrupted. "The crew would like to have another look at Vixey's wings." Vixey rolled her eyes flopped down onto the bed. "Tomorrow after I've had me rest they can ask me anything. Unless the captain had other ideas?" "That will be fine. The crew be too nosy for their own good anyway." Bootstrap nodded before turning to leave. "So I'll see you tomorrow then Vixey, and you can catch me up on what's new." Vixey smiled, an action which irritated Davy for some unknown reason. Were she and Turner lovers once? No, he looked at her in a fatherly way. "Good night Bill," "Good night Vixey, captain." The silence that followed the quiet noise of the closing door was almost maddening.


	3. Interesting Discoveries

Later that night found her tossing and turning in a horrific nightmare. It was a vision she knew all too well. It was the day she lost her daughter, Lilly. The scene played out much like it did 400 years ago. They were at home having a nice quiet evening when her husband had come in drunk as a skunk. He had shouted at Vixey that she was nothing but a whore and that Lilly wasn't even his. Vixey's whimpering woke Davy from his normal place at the organ.

Vixey watched helplessly as her husband crossed the room in three broad steps to where Lilly was playing. He jerked her up but the collar and drug her up the stair. Vixey leapt top her feet and grabbed his arm, only to be slung hard against the wall. She could hear Lilly crying somewhere but it sounded so far off as she drifted out of consciousness. When she awoke, she felt like her head had exploded. Her husband was no where to be seen but Lilly lay at the foot of the stairs, her neck tilted at an impossible angle. When the police arrived, her husband told them that Vixey had been drunk and passed out and allowed their daughter to fall down the stairs. None of it was true of course, but the police believed him anyway. After they had left, he sneered in her face how he had done it. That night, he had tried to rape her but she had hid butcher knife under pillow and cut his throat when he came for her. That was the night she became a pirate.

Davy sat on the edge of her bed and watched her as she moaned in her sleep. Whatever she was dreaming about, she would be glad that he woke her up. "Wake up Lass, you're dreaming." Her eyes shot open and as she sat strait up in a cold sweat. She realized that she was leaning in close to him and muttered an apology before scooting away. Davy clucked his tongue. "No need for sorrys. What was it about?" She considered telling him it was none of his business but it looked as though her dreams had woken him up so she told him the whole story.

"So ye killed him," he finally said after listening quietly. "Aye, and I'd do it again. He was gonna sell her before I grabbed him. Then he figured it would be better if he killed her. It would hurt me more." "So that's why you said you wouldn't kill a child?" She sighed and nodded. "You must think I'm the worst pirate ye ever heard of." Davy chuckled. "Nay Lass, I've heard of far worse then that. By the way, I was wonderin where ye knew Bootstrap from?" She knew that was coming. "I met him on the Black Pearl. Barbossa and I were lovers once. That is of course until he chose that damn Aztec chest over me." "Ye made him choose between you and plunder? Lass, that was-." She cut him off right there. "I know how that sounds but I saw what was coming and I tried to warn him. I don't know about you but being that damned is not my idea of fun. You cant feel anything at all? I didn't want that for him, I loved him. But as I found out yet again, love betrayed me."

Davy said nothing. He knew her story all too well but as he had listened to her tale, he realized that she was hurting too. Once again, feelings he though long since to be gone welled up. He watched as she stretched her wings once more before bringing them around her like a blanket. This little bit of past she had shared was only a scratch at the surface. He didn't want to appear too interested but he wanted to know more about her. As long as she'd lived, there was no telling how much she'd been through. His musings were interrupted by a soft THUMP. He spared a second glance at Vixey and what he saw shocked him. She had a tail! Said tail was now twitching much like a displeased cat. Upon closer look he could see that wasn't the only new arrival. Her ears had elongated to a point and on the top her head sat a pair of horns that curved back. "What be the meaning of this?" He cursed inwardly as she flinched at the sound of his voice. "This is the real me," she quietly replied. "The human form is a disguise of what I truly am. You must think I'm hideous." "Lass, have ye had a look at me and my crew lately? Why would ye think you were hideous?" She sighed heavily before speaking. "What I told you about the night my daughter was killed was all true but I left out a bit. He slung me against the wall twice, once after I grabbed him and twice after I showed him what he was really dealing with. I could smell the fear from him under all the rage and hate. He said I was a hideous monster and he was doing the world a favor by ridding it of my offspring. I had never hated who I was until then." Davy looked at her for a moment and realized how frail she seemed in this state. Who would have ever thought that this was the same woman who only a few hours ago had fought like a wild beast. "Ye shouldn't hate who ye are Lass. Sometimes it's all ye have." His hand was itching to be resting on her back but he shook it off.

Vixey chucked a bit at his statement. "My mother used to say that sometimes in life you have to be a high riding bitch and that sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold on to. I laughed it off at first but I found out later that she was right. When I was a Captain my first few years that's all I had then. I had to show my crew sometimes that I wasn't a pushover. It wasn't easy when you've known you're first mate since you were kids." She sat up to look at him better and hissed as the wound in her side reminded her it was still there. "If it isn't better in the morning, I might need to take a quick dip in the ocean." She looked up at him and he knew she wasn't asking permission but making a statement. He nodded to show her he understood. "So salt heals ya," he finally said. He knew salt water had healing properties but he didn't think she would need it. "Aye, sometimes things take longer to heal then others. Most of my healing energy will be used for healing my wing and it would be better." "You know you start your duties tomorrow," he warned. She nodded and tried to get comfortable again. He studied her for a minute before sitting down at his organ and played his trademark tune. Jacque had told her about it and she tried to stay awake to listen to it but found her eyelids growing heavy. She awoke sometime later to see Davy asleep at the keys. Carefully she grabbed an extra blanket, tip toed across the room and draped it across his shoulders before crawling back into bed. She didn't notice one of his eyes open as she crawled back into bed or the smile across his face as they both went back to sleep.

Vixey awoke early the next morning and found that she felt a lot better. She was still sore but her wings felt a bit better. She would still need to take a swim but that would help everything. She rolled over towards the organ and found Davy watching her. "See anything interesting," she smirked? "Aye, you talk in your sleep. And your tail twitches." "It always twitches. One way to tell my mood is to look at my tail. What did I say?" "Nothing much I could understand. Mostly talked about Captain Flint. None of it sounded good." "Nathaniel Flint was my first." "First what?" "First everything." When she blushed a bit he understood. "Oh, I see. First love and all." "Yeah, and well he didn't know about the real me for a while after we fell in love. He wasn't real crazy about me keeping it from him but he got by it. Or at least I thought he had. I had a vision he night before his fatal battle. I knew the out come and I told him but he didn't listen. He called me a lying wench and said that if I was keeping my identity a secret that I could be lying about this too. He marooned me the next morning. I never got to tell him I could fly. But you know the rest. The royal navy defeated him and executed him." "I remember the legend. But I don't remember hearing about you." She chuckled. "You wouldn't. There was never a record kept about me so if he were captured they wouldn't know about me." He watched as she sat up and stretched her arms then her wings. He could see the muscles flexing underneath her shirt as she extended her wings to their fullest before folding back behind her. "Daylight be burning Lass. Time to get to work." She smiled before pulling on her boots. "Aye Captain. Anything specific?" "Aye, go help Clanker rearrange the cargo hold contents. Someone just threw things in there and it's awful cluttered." "Aye aye." He breathed a sigh of relief when she left. He was starting to get uncomfortable again. He didn't want to feel this way but she was intriguing. But still, he didn't want to get to close to her. He needed a distraction.

Vixey found Clanker and Koleniko struggling with the crates. When she told Koleniko that the captain had sent her to relieve him, he wasted no time in leaving. As she looked around, she was amazed anyone could stand around much less walk with all of the crates and things scattered around. It took most of the morning and almost in the afternoon to get things straitened up.

By mid afternoon they were done. Bootstrap had come down once to check on her but didn't stay long when Maccus threatened all of them with a flogging if they didn't hurry up. It wasn't until suppertime that disaster struck.


	4. Hurt

Jimmylegs was tired of hearing about Vixey. From the time her wings had been revealed that's all anyone would talk about. She was so great in their eyes and he was tired of it. He wanted her to suffer. He waited until she walked by Maccus, her arms loaded with a tray full of hot stew, before sticking his foot out to trip her.

She felt her ankle connect with something before feeling herself fall. As she felt herself fall. she saw in horror that the majority of the stew had landed on Maccus. He had been decent to her so far but now, well she shuddered to think what he would do to her now. As she hit the floor, she looked up to see Jimmylegs smirking. Her blood boiled and she leapt to her feet, pinning Jimmylegs to the wall in one fluid motion. "You just made a huge mistake whelp," she snarled as she pressed her claws into his throat.

Davy entered the mess hall in time to see Vixey slam the Bosun against the wall. He could see her hands wrapped around his throat had turned into claws and said claws were currently pressing into Jimmylegs' throat. Then he noticed the mess on the floor. "What be the meaning of this," He bellowed. All eyes were on Davy as he strode across the floor and pulled Vixey off of Jimmylegs. She snarled and lunged for the Bosun as Maccus and Clanker held her. Jimmylegs held his hand to his throat and slid down the wall. "She just attacked me out of no where Captain." Davy looked back at Vixey as she struggled and broke free of her captors. Before she could reach the Bosun, Davy grabbed her and held her by the neck and wings. "What's gotten into ye?" He could still see the anger in her eyes as she growled at Jimmylegs. "He tripped me." "That may be but fighting is against the rules and gets ye 20 lashes. Tie her to the mast!" Vixey's struggles made then loose their grip on her twice before she was thrown against the mast and secured. Her mind was in a frenzy but stayed clear enough to remember to bring her wings back into her body and out of harms way. If she wanted to she could make her wings into a impenetrable shield but that would be the cowards way out. In stead she stood still as Maccus began.

With each stroke of the whip she was reminded of her husband but he was no where near this strong. She wasn't sure which burned more, the flogging itself or the fact that Davy had ordered it himself after all she had told him. As promised, each lash stripped flesh from her back until it was a raw bloody mess. There was still the protective covering between her back and her wings so there was no chance of damaging them. But still it hurt like bloody blue hell!

After the final lash was made, they released her, most of them expecting her to collapse. But to their surprise she stayed standing. She gave a sad glance to Bootstrap, who she knew had used all of his willpower not to come to her aid, then to Davy who was watching her with a sort of sad rimmed awe. She gave a war-like cry of rage before unfurling her wings and shot strait up. They watched as she flew higher then the mast before diving head first into the sea.

The salt water burned her wounds as soon as she hit the water but she knew if she didn't do this she would be to sore to do anything and her wounds could get infected. An hour later it still stung but the ache on her heart had subsided. She realized that he was the captain and he couldn't show favor with anyone. But that didn't make it hurt any less. She knew she would have to surface eventually but she didn't want to face the crew. She sighed and watched as the bubbles it made float lazily to the surface and break.

As she looked up at the surface, it rippled before a large figure plunged to the bottom. She knew who it was a second before he floated to the bottom and stared her in the eye. "Is there something you wanted Mr. Maccus?" Maccus eyed her for a moment and took in her disarrayed state. She had shredded her shirt so it didn't stick it her back and her hair floated all around her like a veil. "The Captain wanted to know when you came back and Bootstrap was getting worried about you so he sent me. The Captain wishes to see you in his quarters when you come up." Then more quietly he asked, "are you ok?" She was about to ask him if he really cared but then she looked into his eyes. She saw that underneath the harsh exterior was a kind and gentle soul. Well maybe not puppies and kittens gentle but it was still there. It had been marred by hundreds of years of service to the Flying Dutchman's captain. "I'll be ok." "I hated to flog you but trust me it was better me then the captain." she sighed and shook her head. "I doubt that. I was told you strip flesh off with every stroke. And I found out how true it was. But I guess it would be worse because he's so much stronger. But I guess I better go topside then and face the music." "That reminds me, he's been playing his organ ever since you did your high dive act. That usually means he's troubled about something." "Good", she said as she started swimming upwards.

Jacque didn't even look up as she came in. "Chile I know you'd come here first." She sighed and hopped up on the table top. "Did it look as bad as it felt?" "you might want to ask who ever swabbed the deck." "Who would that be." "The same guy dat got you into trouble in de first place." She shook her head in disgust. "I hope he had to clean it with his tongue. I mean I know it was stupid to give in to histaunts but I couldn't let him get away with what he did." "De Captain been broodin ever since you jump in the water." "Good. Let him brood till doomsday. I have to say that I was never more afraid of him then when he gave that order. Any harder and he would have gotten my wings too." "You better go see what he wants Chile before supper." She nodded and headed towards the captains quarters.

Davy knew the second she stepped on board and he was almost tempted to give her 40 lashes but thought better of it when she limped through the door. She grimaced as she sat down and looked at him. " I wanted to apologize for my behavior." You're only apologizing cuz ye hurt." "No I'm apologizing because I feel stupid that he managed to goad me into a fight in front of you. But at least you punished him too. Did you make him use his tongue?" Davy chuckled but stopped as she flopped on her stomach. He could see now how much damage had been done and it irritated him that he cared a bit. " I hope there won't be a repeat of today?" "Not as long as Jimmylegs leaves me alone. He's jealous of me did you know that? I could feel it in the air but I didn't know who it belonged to until I touched him." "Aye, it doesn't surprise me. He was a vain man in his life. When I found him he told me he was too handsome to die. So I turned him into the most horrible looking thing I could think of. He still hates me for it." Vixey chuckled at the thought of Jimmylegs ever being handsome. "Well, looks aren't what's important. Its what's inside that counts. I guess if I had paid attention to my own advice I wouldn't have had such bad luck in men. Oh well. Live and learn." "Aye, some things you have to learn the hard way." "What was her name?" He stopped breathing for a moment. He hadn't thought of her name in a long time. And he wasn't gonna start now. "Perhaps you should check with Jacque to see if he needs any help." I just asked her name." "Just LEAVE!"

Weeks went by without either one speaking to the other, well unless you count mumbling under your breath speaking. Her back had healed up nicely and Jimmylegs had stayed out of her way so it wasn't quite all bad. But still she wanted to apologize. She remembered how it had hurt anytime someone had mentioned Flint after he died. It still hurt but not nearly as much. But if his love was great enough to make him cut his heart out and then have a legend made, it must have been great.

Davy was still upset and the sea had shown it the last couple of weeks. He found that he played his organ more now then when he first cut his heart out. Was it supposed to hurt this bad even after it was gone? He found his mind drifting to Vixey. In all his years at sea he had never seen anyone like her. It was obvious she had a temper and didn't like being pushed around. But she had taken the flogging when she could have protected herself. So why did she just stand there? And what was the look she gave him all about? He shook his head as if to clear his mind. What did it matter to him what the look meant? He was taking this much too seriously and decided to take a walk around the ship.

Vixey had taken over at the helm to relieve Clanker, who had been there since the sun came up. Now, being almost dusk and Jacque not needing her help, she wanted something to do to get her mind off of things. _And people, _ her mind reminded her. As she watched the crew going about their duties, she failed to notice Davy had come up behind her. Until one of his tentacles had touched her wing.

Davy wanted to laugh as Vixey almost jumped out of her skin. "Jumpy are we Lass?" Vixey stayed silent as she debated weather or not to talk to him. He cleared his throat and reputed it a little louder. "Yes, ok are you happy now? Something's been off all day for me." He looked confused. "What do you mean 'off'? "I mean something isn't right." It wasn't a total lie, she had been feeling weird today. It was the feeling she always got when something was about to happen. "I had dreams all last night about my son being in trouble. And then I wake up feeling like this." He had never seen anyone talk about someone with such love and concern in their eyes. Both were silent for a moment as she debated on weather to apologize. She knew she had done nothing wrong really, but she also knew how he felt. Finally she made a decision. Her quiet voice startled him out of his thoughts. "After Barbossa betrayed me, it took every inch of willpower I had not to kill anyone who mentioned his name. It hurt to have anyone mention his name and I took it out on anyone who was near by. I had almost forgot about that." "What exactly are ye tryin to say Lass?" "I'm sorry for asking about her. Even when you tried to change the subject I didn't get it and kept on prying." He regarded her words for a minute then looked at her with what she could swear was a smile in his eyes. "Are ye gonna go through all the dramatics every time ye get flogged?" She looked at him with a devilish glint in her eyes. "Maybe." Davy harrumphed as she tried her hardest not laugh. But she knew he had forgiven her. But the good feeling left as quick as it came as she suddenly had that feeling again. She knew something was wrong with Jim, but she couldn't figure out what. Until she smelled the smoke. Without warning, she rushed out on deck and snatched the spyglass from Maccus' hands. In the distance she could see a black pillar of smoke and realized how close to home she was. Davy came up behind her and saw what she was looking at. "What is that Lass?" My home," she replied in a cold voice. "My son is there. If you wont help me I'll go alone." "We'll help," Davy said seeing the anger in her eyes, "but I still have three more years before I can go ashore." "Thank you," she said quietly as he gave the orders to head for the smoke at top speed.

It seemed to take forever as they finally reached the cove that held Vixey's home. As the pier came into view they could see a ship with blood red sails and the burning remains of a smaller ship. On the pier was a man with a peg leg fighting off several men but it didn't look like he could keep it up or much longer. Vixey let out a growl when the ship had come into view. "It's me good for nothing crew! If they've hurt my son they'll wish they'd died at sea when I get a hold of em." With her sword unsheathed, she unfurled her wings and took to the air with a war like cry. It was, Davy noticed, similar to the one she had uttered when she was flogged but it had a more sorrowful tone to it. This one was a cry of rage and anger.

Vixey flew in a blind rage toward the group of fighting pirates. They were too caught up in the battle to know what hit them. She barely registered Davy giving the order to join her.

She fought her way through to the crowd to the peg legged man. He caught her movement out the corner of his eye and whirled around to clash swords with her. "Vixey?" "Oh come on John, you didn't think I was gonna let you have all the fun," she replied as she fended off several pirates.

Davy watched her as she exchanged words with the peg legged man and found himself feeling something akin to jealousy. He had seen the grin on the mans face when he had seen Vixey and found himself wondering what their history was.

Finally as the last man in sight fell, John started telling Vixey that he and Jim had just come back from Tortuga when someone had set the house on fire. Then they were swarmed with pirates and he and Jim had gotten separated. Before he knew it, Jim was nowhere to be seen. "Its like he just disappeared Vix," John said using his pet name for her. "Who was there?" "Well yer no good first mate Mason of course as well as the rest of your worthless crew." "Aye, they threw me overboard. Did you see any other ships?" John thought for a moment then his face lit up. "Now that ye mention it there was one of them Royal Navy ships but I don't remember if it came anywhere near us." out of the corner of her eye Vixey could see movement near the house, A blood spattered man caught sight of Vixey and ran towards the woods. Davy watched the scenario play out and was about to order one of his crew after the man when Vixey took one a dagger from her belt and hurled it at the man. It hit him right about the knee and he fell backwards.

Vixey took to the air and pounced on the man. She grabbed him by the throat and started squeezing. "Where's my son," she growled as she loosened her grip for him to talk. "I don't know." He yelped as she backhanded him "Where's my son?" "Go to hell," he spat back. Vixey sighed and smiled at him. To anyone who didn't know her they would think she was trying to charm him, but John as well as Bootstrap knew that the future did not look good for this man. She turned to John and told him and the other men to go back to the ship. Then she turned back to the man, pulled the dagger out of his knee and held it at his throat. I'm only gonna ask you one more time. Where's my son?" The man swallowed. He wasn't supposed to tell her anything but he didn't get paid enough to die. "Ok, Beckett has him." Beckett, the name was familiar. He's the one that Jack had been telling her about a few months back. "Where did they take him?" "Port Royal." "Why does he want my son?" "I don't know." she looked into his eyes and saw that he wasn't lying and was almost tempted to let him go but the dragon inside her was raging for blood. Besides, he'd only run to Beckett and warn him. While she was thinking, he managed to slip a dagger out f his boot and slash at her wing. With a growl she pounced on him, slashing and hacking at his body until it was long past dead.

John had managed to get himself to the Flying Dutchman. He could tell that Jones was wary of him but at this point it didn't matter. His son was missing and Vixey was to say the least livid. He would deal with Jones later. As he looked in the direction of where Vixey was last seen, he saw something red in the distance. As it got closer they could see that it was Vixey, covered in what looked to be blood.

Davy was shocked as Vixey climbed aboard. "Lass, what happened?" "I got answers. Beckett kidnapped my son. They're heading for Port Royal."

Davy had given the orders to head for Port Royal and was now watching the exchange of conversation between Vixey and her friend. Vixey had cleaned herself up somewhat and changed her clothes but she still had blood on her face, along with the fires of hatred and rage in her eyes. Davy had never seen her so angry. He knew her son meant a lot to her but he was just now getting how much. Vixey had told him once that family was everything to her. She had called Him and the Dutchman's crew her family too. Clanker had gone back ashore before they left and had seen the body of the man Vixey had killed. He had told Davy that it didn't even look like a man anymore, just a hunk of ground up meat. While Davy liked seeing Vixey full of rage, he didn't want it to consume her the way it had him.

Vixey watched Davy out of the corner of her eye as he strode over to them. "Lass you have yet to introduce me to your friend," Davy said quietly. John took a step forward and extended his hand. "Long John Silver's the name, or John as Vixey calls me." Davy eyed his out stretched hand for a minute before nodding. "Long John Silver? I've heard of you. Not too long ago you found Flint's treasure island." "Aye," John said with pride in his voice, "my son and I went with my crew and found it but the island sank before we could load much of the treasure." "I told you he had it booby trapped," Vixey said with a smirk. "But you wouldn't listen. 'I can steer me way around the traps', you said, 'I'll come back with so much booty I'll have to beat the girls off with a stick,' you said. Don't listen to Vixey. She was only with Flint for four years." "Would ya get off that already. Ok you were right and I was wrong are ye happy?" "Yeah John, I am. It's about time you said it too." "Good luck taming this one Mate," John said to Davy as he went into the galley.

Davy watched John go for a minute then turned to Vixey. "What did he mean by that?" Vixey just shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows with him. I've known him for over 15 years and I still cant figure him out sometimes." "So he's yer boy's father then," Davy said quietly. "Yep," Vixey sighed as she tried to rub some blood off of her nose, "he's the reason my son is mad at me. I bet you he'll be happy to see me now. I can tell you one thing , if they've hurt him they'll beg me to kill them." "He means that much to ye Lass, "Davy said as he fought the urge to move a lock of hair that had fallen out of her braid. Said lock was currently resting between her eyes. She blew it out of her face and continued to attempt at cleaning her face. "Where did your friend go," Davy finally asked. "I told him about Jacque and he wanted to meet him. John was a ships cook for a long time and he loved it. But he loves being captain more. That ship that was on fire was the Albatross. He and I built it together a long time ago." He could see the unfallen tears in her eyes and found himself almost wanting to take her in his arms as comfort her. But the thoughts again angered him. He was Davy Jones, the man who ripped his heart out of his chest because of a woman. But Vixey's thirst for blood excited him. Vixey's passion for the ones she cared about touched him but the fire in her eyes and soul made him feel almost alive again. She was nothing like HER. Celeste. He hadn't thought of her in some time. But he cursed Vixey for asking her name. He had tried to forget about Celeste but Vixey had made him remember. Vixey was nothing like Celeste. The fact kept repeating in his mind. Celeste had been a proper lady and cared nothing for the sea. He was a fool for ever falling in love with her. Celeste and he had had a fight about sailing. She wanted him to give it up and he refused. He should have known then that it would never last. He was brought out of his thoughts by Vixey's hand waving in front of his face. "Are you in there, hello?" He grabbed her hand and chuckled when she jumped. "You didn't hear a word I said did ya," Vixey said, sounding a little miffed. "I heard ya," he said quietly, hoping she would be satisfied with that. "Ok then what did I say?" He cursed to himself and sighed inwardly. "In case you've forgotten, I'm the Captain here and you're the crew. You answer to me not the other way around." "Fine, she huffed, "all I said was that I appreciate this. Not many captains would have don't something like this for me." He couldn't say anything else but "you're welcome".

Vixey could sense something wrong with him. She didn't try to listen to his thoughts but the name "Celeste" had popped up a few time. She figured that was the name of the girl he had loved so she didn't ask him. But things had changed since he ordered her flogging, he had changed. She was almost afraid that her feelings for him had changed too. She was starting to feel something for him, but it wasn't love. Around his crew he was hard, cold and uncaring but around her he was a bit softer. And she had to admit she liked it. But she wasn't ready to fully trust him with anything so precious as her heart, it had already been broken enough.


	5. Capture and Rescue

A few days later found them getting closer to Port Royal. As the Dutchman came around a cliff, Vixey could see The Black Peal anchored within the cove. John had come up and knew the look on her face. "You want to let Jack know, don't ya?" "I know you two don't get along, but he is Jim's godfather," Vixey sighed. Davy had heard the question and was not pleased. "I wont have it! I wont work with Sparrow." Vixey gave him a look colder then he'd ever seen. "Jack is Jim's godfather and he can help. You don't have to work with him but I want him in on this. You can do what you want to me when this is all over."

Davy swallowed hard. He could think of a thousand things he'd rather do then work with Jack Sparrow. Then he thought of a thousand things he'd like to do to Sparrow. Then he looked at Vixey and saw how afraid she was for her son. She didn't show it on her face but he could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. What he would do to her he didn't know yet, but it was going to be humiliating and painful. "Head for the Pearl."

Jack had been dozing in a drunken stupor for the last few hours when Mr. Gibbs knocked on his door. "Unless you've brought me rum, bugger off." Gibbs looked very nervous. "Jack, the Dutchman's headed towards us bearing a white flag." "I wonder what old squid head wants," Jack muttered as he staggered on deck. As the Dutchman got closer, Jack could see Davy glaring at him then talking to someone beside him who Jack thought looked like Vixey. "I must be drunker then I thought. That looks like Vixey." "Then I must be drunk too because I see her too," Gibbs said. Jack turned to look at him and when he turned back to the Dutchman , Davy was standing right in front of him and he almost tripped over his own feet. "Jack Sparrow," Davy spat. "Jones, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit," Jack said trying not to stutter. "I asked him to," came a quiet voice. Jack looked behind Jones to see Vixey with the most peculiar look on her face. It was a combination of sadness and anger that he had never seen on her. "Love what's goin on here? Why are ye with Jones?" "That no good crew you hired for me threw me overboard but as to your other question, Jim's been kidnapped." Vixey's words sobered Jack up immediately. Davy watched, loathing Jack more by the minute as Vixey told him the whole story. Jack saw red when he heard Beckett was involved. "Knew we shoulda killed him when we had the chance, Norrington too. Then we wouldn't have lost…" Jack trailed off. Vixey's ears perked up at that remark. She sensed that he was hiding something from her. "Lost what Jack," Vixey asked. Jack didn't want to lie to her but Jones couldn't know what he knew. If he knew that Norrington and Beckett had the heart then the rescue would be abandoned for the recovery.

Vixey shook off the feeling as they made plans to head to Port Royal. It wasn't too much further but this was as close as the Pearl could get. The Dutchman could submerge and head into the harbor but that didn't do any of Jack's crew any good. Finally a plan was made.

"You control the sea and thus you control the sea's weather. You could make a fog bank, a big one. Both ships could get close into the harbor and we could sneak in," Vixey said excitedly. A familiar rush was building, the rush she got right before a battle. She could feel her heart racing and her adrenaline pumping. Davy had to admit, it was a good idea and since he couldn't set foot on land then at least he would stay busy. "We should wait for dark tho," John said as he emerged from the galley with Jacques. "You're not going John," Vixey said firmly. "He's my son and I'm going," John growled back. Vixey stood toe to toe with him, "yeah and then I'd have to save both your hides. If I remember correctly the last time I saw you, you said you were feeling your years and your joints were bothering you. Not to mention that fight with all those pirates a while ago and you got hurt." "It was barely a scratch," John spat back, "and you try fighting six men at once." "I have," she finally said, "but I cant loose you. I know we never were in love but I still do love you. You're a wonderful father and a good friend, not to mention all the fun we've had. It would be like loosing Kale all over again." John's heart sank when he heard that. Vixey and Kale had grown up together and were almost as close as she was with her best friend Jayde. He died during a raid and Vixey had never forgiven herself. "I'm not Kale, Vix. You wont loose me," he said as he pulled her in a huge hug. "But I have to help rescue me son,' he said firmly." Vixey closed her eyes for a minute before nodding. "Ok, you go but be careful." She wiggled out of his embrace and stood at the railings, looking at the open sea. Davy came up beside her, Maccus behind him. "Who's Kale?" She blinked back unshed tears before she answered. "Kale, Jayde and I grew up together. He was killed in a battle a long time ago. I told him to stay on land but he didn't listen." "And Jayde," he asked, "Jayde is my best friend. We've had a bond from the first day we met. She's Jim's godmother and I know she would want to help but I have no idea where she is. I wish she was here." Out of no where, rock flew over the side and hit Davy on his head. "What the devil," he snarled as he and Vixey peered over the side. Davy couldn't believe what he was seeing. Down in the water swam a mermaid. Her hair was as black as night and her tail was a green as the kelp. "Jayde," Vixey exclaimed, "What in hell are you doing here?" Jayde jumped strait up out of the water and landed on deck, her tail turning into a pair of legs. From out of nowhere appeared a white low cut billowy shirt and a short striped skirt . The two women hugged for a moment before Vixey eyed her up and down. "As I said before, what are you doing here?" "Oh I was just passing through and I thought I'd stop by. I sensed you needed me what did you think silly," Jayde giggled as she took in her surroundings. "I do, Jim's been kidnapped,' Vixey sighed. "Kidnapped," Jayde exclaimed. "Aye, and we don't need some silly little fish getting in the way," John snapped. "Silly fish am I," Jayde spat, "well you're a-." "Knock it off you two. My son is in danger and all you can think about is your stupid differences? Both of you can stay on the ship if you're going to act like two year olds," Vixey interrupted.

Jack eyed the newcomer. She looked familiar somehow but Vixey had called her Jayde? Jack thought back to his younger days. He vaguely remembered a young girl at the docks of Tortuga named Jayde. Her father had been a pirate and she had always accompanied him down to the docks when he would go sailing. But when her father would get out of sight, Jayde would immediately seek out Jack. Back then she was little more then an annoyance but at he looked at her now, he kicked himself for ignoring her.

Jayde also noticed Jack and motioned to Vixey with her eyes But her eyes got wide when she saw another man emerge from below. "Who's that?" Vixey looked to where Jayde was looking. "Oh that's Will. He and Jack are, well, maybe not. I was gonna say they were friends but Will and Jack don't exactly see eye to eye. It's a long story." "Oh, well maybe I'll go introduce myself," Jayde said with a devilish grin. "Girl, he's married. His wife is 6 months pregnant and is on bed rest. And trust me, you don't want to mess with Elizabeth." "Oh pooh, well at least I can flirt," Jayde giggled. Vixey rolled her eyes as Jayde sauntered over to Will. She couldn't hear what Jayde was saying but it was making Will very uncomfortable. Vixey knew for a fact that Jayde had fancied Jack for a long time, but Jack always saw her a just a silly little girl. "Maybe now he'll change his mind," Vixey said, not knowing she had said it out loud. "Who will," Davy said as he came to stand by her. "Jack about Jayde. She's been after him a long time." "So she be a mermaid then. How does she have legs?" Vixey wondered if she should answer Davy's question. "I'm sure you've heard of Tia Dalma?" "Aye," he hissed. "Well, she and Jayde are friends, how I don't know, but anyway she and Tia made a deal and Tia gave her the ability to change at will. Me personally, I'm not real fond of Tia and the feeling is mutual but since Jayde and I are friends she tolerates me. But Jayde's mother was a mermaid and her father was a pirate. You know how the old stories go. Her father was sailing one day and heard someone singing. As he got closer to the source he saw Jayde's mother sitting on a rock combing her hair. Anyway, long story short they fell in love and had Jayde. But her mother felt the call of the open sea and left Jayde with her father. Her father took her to see Tia and the rest is history." "Aye, but how can you have grown up with her if she was a young girl who knew Jack." Davy sounded perplexed and she couldn't help but laugh. "For someone who claims to be the sea, you don't know much about what's in it." Before he could get angry she quickly explained. "Mermaids age very slowly when they are young and since she is half human, that process is slowed down even more. But when she turned 21 she started aging normally. But it was 21 of her years." He understood now. He had heard of mermaids but had never seen one.

Jack watched the exchange of conversation between Will and Jayde. It irritated him the way she leaned so close. He was feeling something akin to jealousy but he couldn't figure out why. He didn't have feelings for Jayde, did he?

Later that night found them closer to their destination. They would reach Port Royal tomorrow sometime. Jayde had been Will's shadow all day and to Vixey's amusement it was starting to irritate Jack. She had caught him several times muttering to himself, only catching a few words like "tease" and "getting to me". Finally, she cornered Jack at the bow. "What bug's up your bum?" He jumped as if she had burned him. "Nothing Luv, why?" He noticed she had her hands on her hips. Not a good sign. It meant that she was in a question asking mood and she wasn't going to stop until she got what she wanted. He knew that look all too well. "Jack, don't tell me nothing. This is ME you're talking to. No secrets between us, remember?" Jack nodded. He remembered that promise all too well. "What be Jayde's agenda?" Vixey gave him what she hoped looked like a confused look. "What do you mean? I don't think she has an agenda." Jack sighed. It was never easy figuring out Vixey. He knew that she knew Jayde was up to something, or at least he hoped he knew. "Luv, it's just the way she acted around me when she first came here. She wanted something from me." I'll say she does, Vixey thought to herself.

Later that night, Jack couldn't sleep and he couldn't find any rum so he decided to take a walk. As he came around the corner he saw Jayde and Will in the shadows talking. He decided to get closer.

As he edged around the corner he could hear Jayde saying something about Will needing a real woman. He couldn't hear Will's replay but all of a sudden, Will grabbed Jayde and kissed her. Jack's blood boiled as he stomped over to the two and yanked Jayde out of Will's arms. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "Kissing Will," Jayde huffed, "at least he doesn't see me as just a little kid." Neither one heard Will's muttered apology as he scrambled below deck. "I've grown up Jack, a lot. I'm a woman and I have feelings and needs and most of those I cant think about without seeing you. I had a crush on you years ago, and it turned into more but you always say me as just a little kid." "Lass, I'm very well aware that you're a woman but you don't need to get involved with me." "If you're still hung up on Elizabeth, you can just let go of that. She's married to Will. The only reason I even led him to kiss me was to make you jealous. I even got Vixey to ask you what you thought of me. Do you remember what you told her," Jayde spat. "Aye," Jack sighed, "I told her you were just a little kid and you were too young for me. But I was involved with Anna Maria then. I didn't want to hurt your feelings but I guess I should have said something different." "You're damn skippy you should have," she growled. With lighting quick speed, Jack grabbed the hand Jayde had raised to slap him and pinned her to the wall as he kissed her. When they finally came up for air, Jayde was grinning like the cat who ate the canary. "What do ya say we move this to somewhere more private," Jack said as he raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Vixey watched the whole exchange with a content smile on her face. "Its about damn time."

She dove over the side and down to the Dutchman. Jack and Davy had agreed earlier that it would be better if the Dutchman travel that way in case the Pearl was spotted. She finally landed on deck and decided to get a bit of rest. Her wandering mind finally settled on The exchange between Jayde and Jack and she chuckled as she entered the cabin. Davy had been sitting at the table mulling over various maps but looked up as she came in. "What's so funny?" "If you had seen what I just saw you'd be laughing too. Jack caught Jayde kissing Will and despite him swearing he doesn't feel anything for her, he got all jealous and pulled her off. Then he proceeded to give her what Jayde would call a toe curling kiss before taking her to his cabin. For my sanity's sake I blocked our mental connection for the night." Davy eyed her for a moment. "So you mean they're," he trailed off. "Knowing them, oh yeah. I always said they would end up together. Anyway I'm gonna get some shut eye." He watched her as she pulled of her boots and sword all the time thinking up things to do to her. He had considered just letting it go, but something told him her pride wouldn't stand for it. She had said he could do anything to her when it was over, but what if it was never over? What if Beckett killed her son before they could get to him? Davy shook these thoughts out of his head. He thought of the mutilated man back on the island. Davy knew Vixey would make that look like a paper cut if Becket had been stupid enough to kill her son. He watched in a amusement as Vixey lay down only to shoot back up and toss a sea urchin out of her bed. She heard his quiet chuckle and looked at him with a sheepish grin before settling back down.

Vixey awoke later to a dry cabin and realized that they must be close. After putting on her sword and boots, she reopened her connection with Jayde and found her to be sound asleep. Grinning, she sent a loud wake up thought before heading up on deck herself.

Back on the Pearl, Jayde heard the call. "Geeze Vix, its too early," she grumbled. Jack had felt her move and had pulled her against him. "S' to early Luv, what's wrong," Jack mumbled. "Vixey's calling me. We're almost there."

Vixey, Davy and the rest of the crew had already beamed over to the Pearl when Jayde and Jack came on deck. Vixey noticed with amusement that Jayde's hair looked like a couple of typhoons had a wrestling match in it. She could also see a few bite marks and hickeys on Jack's neck and she just shook her head. Davy noticed where she was looking and his eyes went wide. "You were right to block that connection I believe." Jayde noticed Vixey's gaze and just shrugged before both women burst out laughing.

"So is this a one time thing Jayde or is this the start of something?" "Frankly Vix, we didn't even get that far."

At last, they were close enough to the harbor to carry out their plan. Davy made a dense fogbank and Jack, Vixey, Jayde, John and part of the Pearl and the Dutchman's crew went ashore. The fogbank was made so that they could see everything around them but no one could see them. They carefully made their way through the streets and to Beckett's house. They decided to split up. Jack and Jayde led one party downstairs while Vixey and John led the other upstairs.

Vixey could feel Jim close but she couldn't pinpoint his location. Finally found him in Beckett's office. It was dark but being part dragon , it didn't matter. Jim was bound and gagged to a chair in the middle of the floor. Vixey could see the various gashes and bruises scattered across his body and felt her blood boil. Beckett would pay with his own blood, wound by wound. She crept up beside Jim and took the gag and blindfold off. He started to speak but she immediately covered his mouth. "Where's the filthy pig Becket," she whispered? "Right here." She turned to the sound of the voice to find Becket sitting at his desk. He was holding a bag with something moving in it. Vixey didn't know what was in it but it seemed important somehow so she watched carefully where he put it. "The game be over Becket. Why did ye kidnap me son?" "To get you here of course," he sneered. "Years ago, you were promised to a young man but you refused to marry him and thrust him into poverty." "He was arrogant and cruel, of course I didn't want to marry him. But what does that have to do with anything?" Out of the corner f her eye she saw several soldiers appear from the shadows and surround her party. Becket slammed his fist down on the desk. "That man was my great grandfather," he growled. "And your marriage would have made him very wealthy. But instead, he spent years as a common sailor as did his children and his children's children. My family lived hand to mouth. My sister died because we couldn't afford a doctor. And it's all because of YOU!" He leapt across the desk and grabbed her by the throat. Vixey was vaguely aware of John and the others fighting off Becket's solders and freeing Jim. She extended her claws and buried them into Becket's side. "John, get Jim and get the hell out of here," she screamed as Becket's men closed in on her. "I wont leave yeh," he yelled back as he sliced through several men. In her mind she could see the vision she had had moments before they had set foot on land. It had played out exactly as she had seen it so far and it ended with everyone she loved dead. She couldn't let the happen. She sent a mental note to Jayde to get out before drawing up her energy and pushing John and the others out the window. She felt someone hit her in the back of her head before everything went black.


	6. Torture

Jayde could feel what was happening to Vixey but knew better then to go against what she said. As they raced towards the exit, they caught up to John and the others and to her relief Jim was with them. "What happen in there John," Jayde yelled as they ran towards the docks. "Turns out, that feller that Vixey refused to marry all those years ago was Becket's ancestor. He blames Vixey for their financial trouble." Jayde was about to ask where Vixey was but her instinct told her. Jack trailed behind Jayde as it dawned on him that they were leaving Vixey. "Where are ye going Mates, Vixey's still back there?" "Vixey told us to go, Jack. Becket cant kill her and we need to get Jim out of here. We'll come back for her." Jack could see the emotion Jayde was fighting back as she spoke. "I don't want to leave her either, but you know how she gets with her visions. If she wants us to leave, its only to save us." Jack spared one last look at the house before following the others to the ships.

Davy was pacing the deck anxiously. They should have been back by now knowing Vixey's demeanor in battle. "There they are Captain," Clanker called from the crows nest. Davy strained to see aboard the Pearl as it weighed anchor and beat a hasty retreat. "Shall we follow them captain," Jimmylegs said from the helm. "No I thoughts we'd stay here and have tea, of course follow them ye imbecile." Bootstrap felt the dread the Captain was feeling. Something wasn't right.

Jayde and the others busied themselves with the wounded as Jack headed to his cabin and slammed the door. Jayde didn't see Davy appear on deck until her grabbed her shoulder and whirled her around. "Where be Vixey?" He could see the sad look on her face a the mention of Vixey's name. "She was captured and she all but threw us out of the house." "And ye left her there," Davy bellowed. "Calm down, she'll be ok." Jayde's reassurance did nothing for him. Jayde looked at a young man that John was currently bandaging. Davy could see the resemblance between him and Vixey. "That be Jim then?" Jayde smiled and nodded. "Looks just like her, don't he. I don't want to say anything that will upset him any further. The fact of the matter is, Becket cant kill Vixey, but he can make her wish she was dead." "He cant kill her? How is that possible," Davy wondered out loud. "Vixey's family is under a curse of some sorts. The dragon part of her comes from a dark dragon centuries ago. He was into black magic among other things. He had suffered greatly in his life and it affected him. He was cruel and uncaring for anything and anyone. It was said he had a heart of ice. Until a young maiden came along and melted it. But it is said that the dragon's blood will make its descendants go mad with blood lust. Not many people know about the family's history but Vixey only tells people she feels she can trust with her life. She was going to tell you ," Jayde said with a knowing smirk on her face. "But you asked why Becket cant kill her, its all part of the curse. Only a blood relative can kill her and Jim's the last one left, unless she's gotten herself knocked up." Davy glared at the last statement. "Do ye think Becket would try to make Jim kill her?" "I wouldn't put it past him," Jayde sighed before heading in the direction Jack had gone.

Vixey awoke to a swaying sensation and saw she had been put in a large birdcage. Her shirt had been ripped to shreds and her head felt like Tortuga was having a party behind her eye sockets. Vixey tried to stand only to get dizzy and fall back down. She ached everywhere but it was well worth it when she reached out with her mind and found that Jim was safe. She tried to contact Jayde but she was too weak to hold the connection. But she did keep it open long enough to let her knew she was on a ship. That much she knew by the rocking sensations but she didn't know where she was or even if it was day or night. The room she was in had no windows. She inspected her wounds as best she could and was thankful that her body automatically retracted her wings when she was unconscious. She had cuts and bruises all over her body, two broken ribs a broken ankle and gashes on her back that could have only come from a brutal flogging. She sighed in frustration at the remains of her shirt and ripped the rest of it off with her talons. It didn't cover anything anyway. She unfurled her wings and curled them around her body like a robe. At least now she was covered and if they tried to beat her again it would be futile. She had rarely had the need to use her shield powers but she was glad she had it now.

Back on the Pearl, tempers flared at the slightest nudge. Jayde had told them of Vixey's attempted contact and that she felt weak and that hadn't suited well with Jack, or anyone else for that matter. Jack didn't notice the way Davy had been acting since Vixey's capture but Jayde did. Davy had spent more time on the Pearl lately then he ever did before. They had gone back later that night to rescue Vixey but Beckett and his men had fled and his ship was not in the harbor. "Don't worry, Vixey can take care of herself," Jayde said interrupting his thoughts. "I wasn't worried about her," he tried to cover. But the look on her face told him she wasn't buying it. "I'm not stupid Jones, I know that look on your face. You care for her, more then you want to admit to yourself." He opened his mouth to say she was wrong but then he realized she was right. Vixey challenged everything he thought he knew about women and he loved to watch her fight. "How weak did she feel?" Jayde smiled at his attempt to cover his feelings. "It wasn't so bad, I could feel that she had been hurt but it was nothing she couldn't heal with time. She thinks she in the hold or somewhere in the bottom of the ship anyway. There are no windows and its dark but she can hear the sea creatures. Which gives me an idea." Before Davy could ask her what, she dove over the side. As he peered into the water, a heavenly sound filled his ears. Mermaids were famous for lots of things, but most of all was their song, the song he was hearing now. But as quick as it had started , it ended as Jayde shot out of the water and back on deck. She stifled a giggle at the look on Davy's face as she shook the water off of herself. "What was that about Lass." "You'll see," she said as she wrung out her hair.

Jack had watched Jayde warily as she approached Jones. He knew Jayde could take up for herself but he wanted to be ready just in case. It was amazing how quickly things had changed between him and Jayde when he thought she was after Will. When he had kissed her, it was like someone stealing the Pearl, or his last bottle of rum and he couldn't have that. They had spent the night making up for lost time and getting to know each other again. He had remembered how he had loved her fiery spirit. As she dove over the side he had started towards them

"Fancy a swim did ya Luv," Jack said as he came up behind Jayde and wrapped his arms around her waist. "No," Jayde smiled, "I just had an idea about how to find Vixey since that compass of your isn't doing any good." "Don't tell me," Jack groaned, "Neko?" Jayde shook her head. "I swear, you and Vixey are getting too good at reading my mind." Before Davy could ask who Neko was, he saw and felt a large ripple in the sea. The ripple got closer and closer to the ship until a large jet of water shot up beside the boat, drenching Jack in the process. Davy watched, as did the rest of the crew, in awe as a large serpent like monster rose out of the water jet. Davy guess this was Neko. Neko's body was sea green on the top and white on the bottom. His head was dragon-like and was adorned with sharp looking horns. But it was his eyes that caught Davy's attention. They were purple, like Vixey's.

Neko bent down and made a high pitched keening sound, much like a whale as Jayde reached out and stroked his head. "Hello old friend, we could really use your help. Vixey's been captured, can you lead us to her?" Neko made a purring sound before eyeing Davy carefully. He then turned to Jack and took a huge sniff before staring him in the eye. "Ello Beastie," Jack said as he gently reached out to touch Neko's snout. Before Jack could say anything else, Neko had flicked out his tongue and licked up and down Jack's face, leaving it wet and slimy. Davy smiled at Jack's curses and sounds of disgust. He liked this creature already. Neko gave one last cry before heading out to sea. Jayde rushed to the helm and gave orders to follow. She turned to Davy who was looking at her like she had lost her mind. "Well get moving, do you want to rescue her or not? Neko and Vixey are connected by a mental as well as spiritual bond and whether or not she is unconscious, he will lead us right to her." Davy's eyes glittered with anticipation as he ordered Maccus to follow them. Becket would be sorry he ever put a toe near his ocean.

By the time the chill in the air announced night time, Vixey had tried every way possible to break out of her cage. She could hear the busy sounds of a busy ship overheard and her name came up frequently. It was at those times she listened more intently to see if there was anything she could use. They had seemed to forget about her otherwise. No one had been near her all day and she was starving. Finally the door at the top of the stairs opened and Becket came down the stairs. He was followed by a small boy, no more then 10, who was carrying a tray full of various fruits and meats. The boy's eyes went wide when he caught sight of her. Vixey's mouth watered as he set the tray down on the table in front of her. Beckett waved him away as he bit into an apple and sat down facing her. "You look confused my dear, pray tell me what is on your mind?" "What do ye want Becket," she spat. "To keep myself alive of course. By capturing your son, I lured you out of hiding in order to capture you. It was unfortunate that he got away but no matter. He will no doubt try to rescue you. And when he does, I will have both of you in my possession. You know, my family has been plagued by your kind for generations. And according to that swamp witch, you and your son are the last. So by capturing you, I guarantee my safety." She growled and flung herself against the bars as he tossed the apple core at her feet. "You leave my son out of this! It's me ye want, and if your family had left mine alone, they wouldn't have had trouble. Your family hunted mine to extinction!" Becket arched his eyebrow. "Really now? Well how is that possible if only blood can kill blood?" Vixey's heart sunk. He knew the secret. "Its only true for those who posses the shape shifting abilities. I was the only one in my brood," she said in a low voice. "Well isn't that a shame. I don't suppose your son shares any of your powers does he?" Vixey smirked at his question. "You don't really expect me to answer that now, do you?" "No, not really. It didn't really seem that he had any powers when I had him," Becket scoffed. "No matter, I will have him soon as well then I can rule the world." Becket laughed cruelly and left the room, leaving the tray of food on the table. Some time later, the cabin boy walked in just in time to see the food levitate off of the tray and into Vixey's outstretched hands. Vixeysuppressed a giggle as the boy's eyes went wide. He almost looked scared and Vixey felt sorry for him. "What's your name, Lad?" "T-Toby. Are you going to eat me," he stuttered. Vixey gave him the sweetest smile she could with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. "Of course not Child, what made you think that?" "They said if I got too close you would tear me to pieces and eat me up." "Oh goodness no, I don't eat humans. I'm half human myself. They just said that so you wouldn't try to help me." Toby thought that over for a minute before eyeing her wings. "Can you fly," he said eagerly. Vixey's heart melted. He reminded her so much of Jim when he was younger. "Yeah I can fly and I can breath underwater," she said as she fluttered her gills.

Toby stayed until Beckett hollered for him a few hours later. Vixey put some of the food back on the plate in case Beckett checked it. She stowed the rest in her pockets as she slumped against the cage walls. She hoped they would find her soon before Beckett got sadistic. She missed the Dutchman. She missed her talks with Bill and Jacques. She found that she even missed Davy. Where had that come from? Sure he was civil to her but not much. But she did have to admit he had been nice to her once. But missing him? It didn't compute.

The crews of the Pearl and the Dutchman were feeling the loss as well. They had been following Neko for almost a week now. Tempers flared on a constant vigil. Davy had been snapping at everyone and everything in his path and Jack was not in a much better mood. Rum ceased to interest him, for the time being anyway. Jayde was worried. She hadn't been sleeping well but Jack hadn't been sleeping at all. The fact that Beckett couldn't kill Vixey was a little reassuring, but what he could do to her in the meantime wasn't. Vixey had been communicating with her but she was so weak she couldn't hold it for long.

Davy felt helpless for the first time in his life. But why was he feeling like that? She was just another member of his crew, right? He missed their talks at night, and he did have to admit that she livened things up around here Vixey was the only person to show no fear towards him. And as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he missed her. Not just as a crew member, but as a friend and maybe something more. The mermaid was right, he thought. I do care for her. "But she hates me and even if I did feel that way about her, which I don't, she'd never feel the same way," he said aloud. "Ye might be surprised Mate," John said as he lit his pipe. "She cares about ya, even if she don't admit it. But she's been hurt so many times, it would take someone special to even allow herself to think about feeling again. I know Vixey and if she has feelings for ya in any way shape or form, she'll let ya know." Davy thought John's words over for a minute. "She aint the only one that finds it hard to trust," he finally said. "Aye, I know the legend," John said chuckling. "And Vixey's the only woman I'd ever cut out me heart for. I love her, but don't get me wrong, it aint like that. I love her for seeing past the pirate and my scruffy past, but most of all, I love her for giving me a son. I was told by a woman I loved once that no woman would ever think of baring me a child. That they would rather kill themselves. For a while, I believed it until I met her. It didn't even touch romantic love, just love between two good friends. One night after Barbossa, we were going over failed loves and we got a little smashed. Well I got smashed anyway. Then one thing led to another, next thing I know, I get a talking parrot telling me to come home cuz Vixey needed me." "A parrot?" "Aye," John grinned, "Jayde and Vixey can talk to all sorts of animals. Turns out Jayde had had the dolphins on alert looking for me boat. When I get home, there be Vixey just a beemin and there in her arms was the most beautiful t'ing I ever laid eyes on. Did ye ever think about having kids?" Davy sighed. Of course he had thought about kids but that was so long ago, when he was still human. Could he even have kids? "Aye, I wanted children once. But that was so long ago I doubt I still could." "Well if you're thinking about having them with Vixey then its possible," John chuckled. "You'll find that there ain't much that's impossible with her. I mean half dragon her best friends a mermaid, she got a sea monster for a pet. I wouldn't be surprised if she had a unicorn or a griffin stuck somewhere." Davy chuckled at the remark. He did have to admit a sea monster and a mermaid were pretty far out there. So maybe he had a chance at being a father. He started to walk away then turned back to John. "Ye say Vixey didn't get drunk?" "Nah, Vixey's self healing also protects against poisons and I guess it considers rum a poison. I'll not say it isn't possible to the get her drunk, its just takes a lot to get her that way. But I wouldn't suggest it. Not unless you want her to jump your bones or fight everything standing." Both men had a laugh at this. Davy almost smiled, almost. It was good to have someone to talk to that wasn't totally afraid of him John was a bit afraid of him, being a sailor but for Vixey's sake, Davy thought he hid it pretty well.

Vixey awoke to someone poking her with something sharp. She opened her eyes to find one of the members of her ex-crew leering at her. "You're not so tough now are ye Girlie?" He had been poking her with his dagger, now dripping with her blood. She rolled her eyes and pulled her wings tighter around he, activating the shield at the same time. Let him poke me now, she thought wickedly. The second the dagger touched her skin he dropped to the floor, writhing and twisting, his mouth open in a silent scream. He finally stopped moving except for the occasional twitch. She quickly grabbed the dagger and hid it in her boot as she heard footsteps on the stairs. She pretended to be asleep as another ex-crewman, the Boson came into the room. "What in bloody hell did you do to him ya harpy?" She opened one eye as if just waking up. "For your information I am part dragon, not harpy and I didn't do anything to him. I was asleep and he was poking me then he stopped and fell over. He must have had a heart attack. Now if you don't mind I'd like to go back to sleep." "A heart attack," he humpfed. "A likely story. I heard some of the things you can do. I wouldn't put it past ya to kill with a touch. Now what really happened?" "How could you kidnap my son? After everything I did for you and your family?" "Beckett paid us and I needed money with Betsy with child again. I shouldn't have told you that. If you get out of here, take your anger out on me not my family." "If you needed money you could have come to me. As for your family, I wont hold this against them and I wont kill you either on one condition. When this is all over with you find someone else to work for. Beckett wont be around forever and when he goes down I will make sure everyone with him will go too." Before he could answer, Beckett came stomping down the stairs. "Well what happened here?" He looked from the Boson to Vixey. "Well, I'm waiting." "You can wait til Hell freezes over for all I care," Vixey spat as she got as far away from Beckett as her cage would allow. "Bosun, what happened?" The Bosun looked at Vixey then back to Beckett. "He was poking her then he just fell over. Looks like a hear attack but I'm no doctor." "Give him a burial at sea and send a note to his family." "Aye Sir." The Bosun took one more look at Vixey before carrying the body upstairs.

Becket looked at Vixey with contempt. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me what really happened?" Vixey promptly spat on his shoes. "That's all you'll get out of me!" Becket Gave Vixey a murderous look. "You will pay for your misconduct, I can guarantee that personally. He turned around and stomped back up the stairs. Moments later, the ceiling about opened up and daylight poured in. Vixey stood up to feel its warmth but her cage lurched, causing her top be thrown back down to the floor. The cage began to rise until it was almost as tall as the mast. "I hope you will be more comfortable up there. You should get plenty of sunlight," Beckett laughed.

Two days later found Vixey still hanging. She had used her wings to shield her, for the most part, from the suns rays as they beat down on her. But the sun also made her cage's bars heat up. She had little food left from the meager bit she had pinched but her luck was holding out. Every time she got really thirsty, it would rain and she would use her wings as a large cup to hold the water. Still, she was getting sunburned.

After her food had run out, the seagulls starting bringing her bits of bread and meat. She had tried several times to see if she could contact Davy the same way she did Jayde but it was no use. She had had plenty of time to think about him and as much as she hated to admit to herself, she realized that she cared for him. She also didn't want to admit it, but she trusted him. It scared her to think that she trusted another man. Well she trusted Jack and John but that was different. They were family. But Davy was her Captain, well he started out that way. The way he had touched her wounds that first night has shown her that there was a hint of kindness buried deep down. And she would make sure to give him every chance to show it again.

Davy was getting anxious. It had been almost two weeks and Neko had shown no sign of altering course or getting closer to Vixey. He swore every night that when they found her he would tell her how he felt. He had spent some time with Jim and Jayde and had had a good laugh at all the trouble Vixey always seemed to get herself into. He smiled as he remembered a particularly funny story that involved Vixey pretending to be a demon to get information from a priest. There was so much he didn't know about her, so much he wanted to know. It would all have to wait until they found her.

After four days, Beckett ordered the cage to be lowered. Expecting Vixey to be weak and broken, he was disappointed when she came down smiling and looking healthy. As she go closer, he could smell the sweat on her. "Well I hope you enjoyed your sunlight. How do you feel about a bath?" Vixey decided to play a little. "A bath sounds wonderful. Wow, this is the best vacation I've ever had." "Drop her," Beckett said as he pushed the cage over the side of the ship.

The salt water stung her wounds but at the same time, cooled her burns. She attempted to wash the debris out of her hair and scrub her body the best she could. Who knew when she would get this oppourtunity again. The dirt swirled around her in a cloud, attracting a large Tiger shark. As it got closer, Vixey attempted contact but the shark only circled around her cage as if it didn't understand her. Then she heard his thoughts loud and clear. _Food? _ Vixey shook her head _I'm not food. I'm being held prisoner._ The shark continued to circle the cage but it was clear that her plight was of no interest or concern. That was of course until the activity attracted a much larger Great White. The tiger shark fled, dwarfed by the White's size. As it circled the cage, Vixey felt a spark of recognition. _Crush? _ The shark turned in surprise and looked at her. _ You are familiar. You are friends with the mermaid called Jayde, yes? _Vixey nodded her head. _Can you help me get out of here? I can promise you a human or two in return. _ The shark shook his head. _I will help you but I do not require payment. Besides, humans give me gas. _ Vixey backed up against the opposite side of the cage as the shark opened its massive jaws and grabbed a section of the cage. He shook his head side to side but only succeeded in bending the bars a bit. He then grabbed a hold of the door and bit down, but it was to no use. _I am sorry. The cage is strong. Is there anything else I can do? _ Vixey sighed and shook her head. _If you see Jayde tell her where you last saw me. Thanks for all your help. _ She watched Crush swim away. At the same time, she noticed that he had lost a tooth. She smiled and hid it in her pocket. Maybe it would come in handy.

Beckett had seen the sharks and had seen the chain holding the cage bend and thrash wildly. As they pulled the cage back on board, he expected to see it broken and empty. Instead, it was only bent and its occupant was surprisingly quiet. "No witty banter for me?" Vixey only smiled and shook her head. "Well then I guess we can put you back," Beckett said as he motioned his men to lower the cage back into the hold.

Jayde was frustrated in more ways then one, Jack hadn't even looked at her since Vixey's capture. But she wasn't blaming anyone except Beckett. She had tried to reassure Jim that everything was gonna be ok but he wasn't so sure. Not to mention that he didn't trust Davy or his crew. Jayde had told him to try to talk to Davy and get to know him, but by the sound of his voice he wasn't jumping at the oppourtunity. There was no doubt that he was as stubborn as his mother.

Davy was staring out at the sea watching Neko when Jim walked up beside him. Neither one said anything for a moment before Jim cleared his throat. "Do you think we're getting close?" "I hope so Lad, I hope so," Davy sighed. "You miss her, don't you?" Davy almost didn't answer Jim's question. "Aye, I do. She lights up things around here." Jim smiled. "Mom always had a way of doing that. You care about you, don't you?" "Aye Lad, I do. More then I have anyone in a long time." Jim thought long and hard before asking his last question. "Do you love her?" Davy knew that was coming. He knew someone would ask him that sooner or later but he figured it would have been Jayde. "I don't know. It's been so long since I've loved anyone that -." He stopped in mid-sentence as he realized what he was saying. It angered him a bit that this boy could have gotten that much out of him. He was so much like his mother.


	7. Rescue

After two weeks, Neko finally sped up. Davy and the others saw that he was headed for a large Naval ship. "Prepare to attack men," Davy shouted. While the others made ready to board, Jayde took Jim aside. "You know you're gonna stay on this ship." Jim shook his head. "I cant Aunt Jayde, Mom needs me." "Your mom needs to you to stay safe. Beckett could capture you again and then we would be right back where we started. You stay in the galley with Jacque out of sight." Jim sighed in defeat. "Ok, for Mom I'll stay." Jayde sighed in relief as he headed down to the galley.

In the hold of Beckett's ship, Vixey was jarred awake by what sounded like Neko. She smiled as it got closer. Finally, she could get out of this rat hole and kill Beckett. But why did that thought unnerve her? It wasn't like she'd never killed before. And he DID deserve it. Then it hit her. He was the reason Jack was hiding something. Beckett must have something Jack wants. But what could it be? What could Beckett have that Jack would hide it from her? Footsteps on the stairs disrupted these ponderings as a man she thought she recognized came into view. "Norrington?" She could see it was indeed him as he leaned closer to her cage. "So its true then, you are what they say you are. How unfortunate, I had a notion once to court you." Vixey's skin crawled at that statement. "As flattered as I am, how about unlocking the door." Norrington studied his fingernails as he spoke, "I'm afraid I cant do that. You see, you are also bait for Sparrow as well as Jones." "I understand Jack but why Jones?" "Well let's just say that I have information about something he may be interested in." Vixey listened to his words and tried to read his mind but he was thinking about so many things it was hard to narrow it down. But the word 'heart' kept repeating itself. _Of course_, she thought, he was still smitten with Elizabeth and his heart was broken. It didn't sound totally right to her but it was the only thing that made sense. What else could it be?

Davy's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword as they got closer. As much he would love to send the Kraken to sink the ship, he had no idea what shape Vixey was in. Besides, it was more fun this way. He looked to his left to see Jayde staring in the direction of the Pearl, or to be more specific in the direction of Jack. "He's just concerned for Vixey, Lass. Don't worry." She sighed and turned away from the Pearl to look at him. "I know he's worried, so am I. The last time Vixey contacted me, she felt very weak, weaker then when she first contacted me. I know they cant kill her, but they can have a lot of fun trying. I made the mistake of telling Jack and he hasn't spoken to me or looked at me since. I'm not trying to be selfish, I know I come off that way. But when you've wanted something as long as I have and you finally get it, you're not so inclined to let it go easily." "Aye Lass, I know what ye mean. I don't think you're selfish and I don't think Vixey would either." Apparently satisfied with his answer, Jayde wandered over to Clanker and started a conversation with him and Hadras. Davy sighed. Women. He didn't think there was a man alive that completely understood them. Maybe it was better that way. He didn't understand Celeste one bit sometimes. She was weepy one minute and raving mad the next. She never made any sense. With Vixey, you knew exactly what mood she was in with no mistakes. Davy liked that but it took some of the mystery out of things. Pushing his musings aside, he did one last check of his men to make sure they were ready to board. This was going to be the biggest shift he had ever done.

Beckett saw the two ships a minute before he felt the ship lurch. They had hit something, but what? The what became evident as a large sea monster rose up out of the water with fury in its eyes. A split second later, Davy and the rest of the would be rescuers appeared on deck. Beckett made his way to the hold and almost bumped into Norrington as he stumbled onto the deck holding the side of his face. Beckett could see the blood seeping between Norrington's fingers. "What happened?" "She scratched me when I told her that I was the one who captained the voyage to kidnap her son," Norrington said as he removed his hand from the wound. Beckett could see five deep scratches running vertically down the side of Norrington's face. That would definitely scar.

Vixey grinned with satisfaction as Norrington staggered up the stairs. The dragon in her roared at the sounds of the fight above her. Keeping her body healed had drained her energy. She could barely move but as weak as her body was, she was still up for a fight if she was needed. If she could only get out of the damn cage.

Davy had slashed through several throats as he made his way across the ship. From what Jayde could tell him, Vixey was probably in the hold. But it was a big ship. As he searched through the Captain's quarters he heard a noise in the closet. He wrenched open the door to find a young boy quaking in fear. He reached out with his claw and grabbed the boy by the shirtfront. "Where is she," he growled. Toby knew exactly who he was and who he was talking about. As scared as he was, he knew this was her rescue party. "She's in the hold Sir. Follow me."

Vixey looked up at the sound of the door opening. She could hear two sets of footsteps instead of one. As Toby came into view she tried to sit up but when Davy came in behind him, she almost fell over with surprise.

Davy was surprised at her appearance. Her shirt was barely more then glorified rags and her pants were smudged and grimy. Her wings that she had clasped at her throat were covered in scratches and gashes as well as the rest of her body. Her hair was crusted in some places with dried blood and her face wore an expression of feigned strength. He could see she was in pain but hiding it from him. "Lass, are ye alright?" "Just friggin peachy now get me the hell out of here. Beckett's been keeping me locked up like some bloody parakeet," Vixey snapped. Davy grinned, she was gonna be ok but he didn't think the same for Beckett and his men when she got out. Davy turned to Toby. "Where be the key Lad?" Toby bit his lip and didn't say anything. "Beckett has it, doesn't he,' Vixey sighed. Toby nodded and looked like he was about to cry. Vixey sighed and patted Toby's shoulder. "It's not your fault. I'll just call Neko. Maybe he can break the bars or something." Davy watched as she closed her eyes and concentrated. A few seconds later, Neko chomped a hole in the hull a few feet above her. He let out a loud keening sound before taking the cage in his jaws and bit down. Finally, the bars bent enough so that Vixey could slip between them. Davy realized how weak she was and threw his arm around her back, supporting her. He could hear how shallow her breathing was and saw her wince a few times. "Lass did ye break a rib?" "Well I didn't break it, one of Beckett's men broke it for me. You know, I think we should put him in the cage." Davy and Toby both chuckled at that remark before heading back up the stairs.

Beckett was deep in battle when he saw Vixey being helped on deck. His face paled as she caught sight of him and her face curled up in a growl. But he realized that Jones was the only thing holding her up. He still didn't see her son but it didn't matter. He would find him.

Vixey laughed when she saw Beckett's face but immediately regretted it when a stabbing pain ripped through her body. "Back to the ship Lads, we got what we came for," Davy yelled as he prepared to head to the Dutchman. But Vixey refused to budge. "Lass, we can come back for Beckett but we need to get you back for medical treatment." Vixey smiled at Davy's concerned words. "I wont leave Toby. Becket will know that he helped us and who knows what he will do to him." Davy looked at the boy and back at Vixey. He knew she was right. Beckett would torture him. "Alright, he stays but only until we can find a better place for him. The Dutchman's no place for a human child."

Jack had heard the orders and saw Jones with Vixey so he knew it was safe to leave. Neko had damaged the hull and the masts so it would be a good while before Beckett would be sailing. As soon as he saw Jones appear on the Dutchman with Vixey, he gave orders to head for a safe place a motioned to Jones to follow him. He was about to head for his quarters when someone stood in his way. "Jayde, Luv is there something you want?" Jayde smirked. Knowing Jack, she knew exactly what he was thinking but it wasn't what she wanted. "Shouldn't we go take a look at Vix?" "Jones has her, isn't that enough?" The last thing Jack wanted to do right now was think about Jones. He realized that he had neglected Jayde and he wanted to make it up to her. But as he stared into her unblinking eyes, he realized that it was futile right now. She wanted to check on Vixey and he realized that he should too. "Alright, Luv. We'll go see her. But when we get back, you're all mine." "That's just what I was about to say," Jayde shot back.

There had been a great rejoicing when Davy had appeared on deck with Vixey. But she had not noticed it for the pain she was in. As he closed the door to his quarters, he turned around in time to see Vixey's legs finally give out. He barely caught her before she hit the floor. "Alright Lass, that's enough of that. You need yer rest." She had started to protest but fell silent when he picked her up and carried her to bed. "I sent the lad to get a bucket of salt water to dress yer wounds." She noticed he hadn't put her down yet and she smiled despite the pain. "What will become of him? I know he cant stay here and still be human but I don't want him to be alone. Maybe Jack could take him on as his cabin boy." As he listened to her ramble on about Toby, he burned to tell her how he felt. He knew he should wait and let her heal first but he wouldn't wait forever. He wanted to tell her before something else happened.

Jack and Jayde almost bumped into Jim as they were all heading for Jones's quarters. Jack could see Jim was struggling with a bucket of water and took it from him. "I'll guess this be to clean her wounds with." "I guess so, that's what that kid told me," Jim said as he raised his hand to knock. "What kid?" "She rescued Beckett's cabin boy, Aunt Jayde. Seems he led Jones to her and she didn't want to leave him behind." Whatever Jayde was about to say would have to wait as the door was thrown open to reveal a irritated Jones. "What be all this then?" "We've come to see Vixey," Jack said as he held up the bucket. "Where be the boy? I sent him for the water?" "He's helping Jacque in the galley. I wanted to see my mom," Jim said as he looked Jones in the eye, daring him to say no. Davy sighed and let them in.

The first thing Jack noticed was Vixey's clothes in the corner. Then he noticed that she was laying on her side, her front covered by the sheet. But he could see her whole back all the way down to the base of her tail. Her back was covered in scratches and ugly looking gashes as well as some good sized bruises. "Mom?" Jim watched as Vixey turned carefully on her back to look at him. "Thank goodness you're safe. I was worried that he would get you again." Did ye ever find out what his plan was," Jack asked; hating to ruin the moment. "Yeah, he knew about the curse Jack. Tia told him. His plan was to keep me and Jim captive and use me to take over the world. If I refused, he would hurt Jim." "What curse,"  
Davy asked angrily. "Those in my family like me had a curse on them that says only blood family can kill them. If Jim were killed before me then I would become a soulless monster, a demon more fierce and powerful then anything ever seen. This kind of being could destroy the world. The beast I would become can only be controlled by the one who killed Jim. Beckett would use this to his advantage and eventually figure out how to become immortal. Jim's not like me so he can be killed by anyone but he has the long life span." Davy's head spun with the information. He knew what it was like to have a monster raging inside.

Jack and Jayde didn't stay long. Vixey had told them to go get some rest, knowing full well they would be doing anything but. Jim had stayed a little longer but had to run back to the galley, leaving Davy and Vixey alone once more. He had cleaned her wounds and dressed them as best as he could. She would still need to soak in the ocean tomorrow but for the meantime he had ordered her to rest. He would tell her how he felt later. Sometime later that night, Vixey woke up to a burning pain in her side. In her sleep she had rolled over to the side of the broken rib. Her body screamed for her to move and as unwilling as she was, she didn't want her body to cramp up. Gingerly, she sat up and realized that she was naked. Her wings would cover her chest but not her lower half. As her clothes and Davy were no where to be seen she used a white table cloth to make a skirt. It was as close to a dress she had ever been.

Clanker and Hadras looked up from repairing netting as Vixey stepped out of the cabin. The Captain had told them to keep an watch in case she came out. Hadras scampered off to find the Captain as Vixey sat down across from Clanker and picked up where Hadras left off. "How ye feeling Miss Vixey," Clanker asked. He hadn't gotten much of a chance to talk to her since she came aboard and he intended to rectify that as much as he could. "I'm achy and my side hurts like hell but I'll live. How about you?" Clanker had gotten the worst of Beckett's men as he was one of the first to board after Davy. "I'll heal, always do. That's one of the perks of being part o' this crew. I'm used to it by now." "How long have you been part of the crew?" Clanker was surprised by her question. No one rarely asked him that question. "Well as near as I reckon, I've been here about 150 years."

Davy watched the two as they talked about nothing important to him. She was asking about his life here. He knew every crew member's story and soon he would know hers, he hoped.

Vixey reluctantly gave Hadras his seat back when he returned. The work had been finished so both men could go to bed. They thanked Vixey before heading down to the crew's quarters for the night. Davy watched Vixey head to the railing before going to stand beside her. "Nice to see you up and about. Interesting choice of wardrobe there." She chuckled at this. Jayde would have said the same thing. "I couldn't find my clothes and I needed to move around before I started to cramp up. Plus I rolled over on my rib. What a hell of a wake up call. Thank you by the way." "For what?" Davy thought she had been unconscious when he had tended her wounds so he couldn't figure out what she was thanking him for. "For rescuing me and seeing to my injuries. I would have never though of you having a gentle hand, err claw, whatever. I mean, no offence but all I've ever seen you be with your crew is harsh." She was right, he had to admit. So how could he get out of this without telling her how he felt? He couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't condemn him. "The truth is Lass, that I care for ye. You've made me feel things I haven't felt in a long time. When Celeste left me, I was broken man and I vowed never to let me self care about anyone. But I'm afraid I've broken that vow." Vixey was shocked. He cared for her? Her heart was pounding in her chest, her blood roaring in her ears. He cared for her? "Then I guess we've both broken vows we've made to ourselves. After Barbossa, I promised myself I would never let a man affect me like that. Then all this time we've been arguing and almost at each other's throat and I realize that I- I care for you too." Davy couldn't believe his ears. She felt the same way. As he turned to look at her, their eyes met. Pale blue met emerald green as they stared into each others eyes, trying to process their thoughts. Finally, he hesitantly lifted his tentacled hand to caress her cheek and was relieved when she leaned into it rather than pull away. He was even more surprised when she took her hand and laid it on his cheek. No words were needed as they gazed in each other's eyes. Time seemed to stand still as Vixey laid her hand on his clawed one and brought it to rest on her cheek in place of the other hand. He realized she was showing him that she trusted him.

Vixey had wanted to hug him, but she realized that it was too soon, not to mention she didn't think he was a hugger. She knew as soon as she was well, he would take what was owed to him and he wouldn't go easy on her because he cared about her.

John had seen Vixey when Jones had first brought her back aboard and Jack had told him that she was resting later on. He hadn't seen her since until she walked out on deck. He had been watching the events taking place and couldn't help but feel a pang of regret when she had accepted Jones touch. It was true, John didn't love her, well not any more then a good friend, but still it would have been nice to have provided a stable family for Jim. He only hoped Jones wouldn't break her heart.


	8. Squish

The next morning found everyone in better spirits. Davy had slept in his own bed last night for the first time in centuries. Vixey, despite her injuries, felt lighter as if someone had lifted a great weight from her shoulders. She had to find Bill and update him. She hadn't seen him at all since they had come aboard and she missed his talks. She noticed that someone had brought more clothes for her while she had slept and her makeshift skirt was no where to be seen. She examined the clothes carefully to find a sea green long sleeve shirt and a short black skirt. She recognized the skirt as one of Jayde's and slapped her hand over her eyes. "Thanks a bunch Jayde."

Davy had to admit he had slept better last night, not to mention there was no crick in his back as there was when he fell asleep leaning over his organ. Not to mention now there was something worth waking up for. A wolf whistle from somewhere behind him caught his attention. He turned to see Vixey walking across the deck to the railing and his eyes widened when he saw what the commotion was about. Vixey was wearing a black skirt that barely came to her knees. She looked very peeved off. He crossed the deck to stand beside her but not too close as to keep the crew from getting suspicious. "Something vexes you this morning?" Vixey just glared at him as she gave the skirt a tug. "I'm gonna throttle Jayde when I get a hold of her. She knows I hate this skirt. It's too tight and too short and I had to make alterations for my tail." Davy chuckled as said tail came into view twitching like an irritated cat. "Wont that ruin the skirt for her?" "She should have thought of that before she left it for me to wear," Vixey chuckled.

By mid afternoon, they had arrived back at the remains of Vixey and Jim's home in the cove. The remains of the house was still smoking but it was dying down. The Pearl docked behind the Dutchman as Davy reminded her that he couldn't touch land yet. "I would help ye if I could Lass." Vixey smiled and touched his arm. "I know, but bringing us here in the first place is help enough. I need to take care of all this before something else happens." She patted his claw before heading over the side and on to the shore. As she headed down the dock, Jayde caught up with her and tugged on her tail. "Hey, that was my favorite skirt." "Oh you're dead fish butt," Vixey growled as the two women chased each other down to the beach.

Davy watched through his spyglass for hours as they sifted through all the soot and ash. Every so often, one of his crew would bring something aboard and take it down to the hold. Davy and Vixey had both agreed that would be the best place to put it. By the end of the day, the rubble was all clear and what could have been salvaged had been stored. Vixey knew that tomorrow Davy would claim his reward and she knew it was going to be humiliating. But the future of Toby, Jayde, Jim and John still remained uncertain. She knew Jayde would stay with Jack and she hoped Toby would too. But as for the other two men in her life, well she didn't know. John would never agree to stay aboard the Dutchman. Not to mention neither one had gills. All would be figured out in the morning, she hoped.

At first light, she was unceremoniously rolled out of bed by Clanker and Bill. Davy was no where to be seen but she knew this was his doing. Clanker chuckled at her expression and her unruly hair as he exited the cabin, leaving Bill to give her the orders. "The Captain wants you to put this on before coming on deck. And it's good to have you back mate," he said as he hugged her gently. Vixey relaxed in his embrace, mindful of her rib as she stared at the monstrosity that was her fate. It was that damn dress. It would be pretty if she were into that sort of thing. But it had too many ruffles. As she examined it more closely, she realized that it was the same color blue as Davy's eyes. There were ruffles around the end of the sleeves and the plunging neckline as well as the hem. The bodice laced up in the front so at least it would be east to get out of. As she turned it over, she found that someone had made a neat little slit to allow her tail to come through. "Well I might as well get this over with." Bill turned his back as Vixey began the hated task of donning the blue death trap. Finally, she had it on but she couldn't quite lace it up. "Ok Bill, you can look now and you can give me a hand." As Bill turned to look at her, his eyes went wide. "Mate I don't know how to say this." "I know, it looks awful. I've never worn a dress in my life." "No," he said as he cut her off, "you look beautiful. Almost like a lady of society." "Do you want me to hurt you?" Bill chuckled as he laced up the bodice, mindful of her rib. Vixey wished she had a mirror, well almost wished. She really didn't want to see herself in a dress but she wanted to see if she really looked as good as Bill said she did. "Oh well, I guess I'd better face the music." "Not yet, you still have to wear the shoes," Bill said as he produced a pair of high heeled shoes. "No way I'm wearing those ankle breakers. I'll stick with me boots. Besides, you cant see me feet anyway." "Alright," Bill sighed, "if the Captain asks, I tried to get you to wear them."

Davy waited impatiently for Vixey to appear. He was almost anxious to see her in that dress. He tried to remember where he had gotten that dress while he waited. Was it from a ship they had seized? No, why would they take it. As the door to his quarters opened, he suddenly remembered. It had been a present for Celeste's birthday. He silently cursed himself for making Vixey wear it, but those thoughts died before he could finish them as Vixey stepped out on deck.

Vixey's thoughts were in a jumble as she made her way across the deck. The look on Davy's face reminded her of a fish out of water. She couldn't look that bad, could she? As she made her way to stand beside him, the look on his face changed from fish out of water to something she couldn't identify. "Does it look that bad?" Davy didn't want to tell her what he really thought. "Ye look different is all." He had forgotten how low cut that dress was. Just as it was starting to make him uncomfortable she tugged the bodice back up. "Time to get on with it," he said quietly before turning to the crew. "So what would a fitting bargain be for services rendered?" "She should swab the decks," Maccus suggested. "She should clean out the brig," Hadras said. "She should scrape the barnacles from the hull," Jimmylegs said. Vixey groaned inwardly. She had seen the hull. It would take forever to get all the barnacles off. But still all were fitting forms of retribution. "I think cleaning the brig will be saved for the next inhabitant but the other two tasks will do nicely. Start with the barnacles," Davy said as he handed her a scraper and a bucket.

She had been scraping for two hours now and had only gotten halfway done. It didn't help that Jimmylegs threw things at her every five minutes. Davy had checked in on her a few times and had caught Jimmylegs in mid throw. Vixey hoped he would end it but he just corrected Jimmylegs' aim. When a hermit crab hit her in the back of the head and stuck in her hair, she cursed both of them and imagined Davy in a dress skipping around the deck and throwing flowers everywhere. That made her roar with laughter but also got Davy' attention. "I didn't realize barnacles were so funny, pray tell what did they say to make ye laugh so hard?" Vixey glared at him. "They said it's about damn time someone came down here. They're tired of hanging around the Dutchman." Davy snarled and threw a clam at her, which she caught with her tail and threw it back. The clam sailed through the air and hit the middle of Davy's retreating back. He whirled around in time to see Vixey dive under the ship.

Vixey's laughter floated around her in bubbles as she busied herself with the barnacles on the bottom of the hull. She was so busy, she didn't notice Davy walking down the hull above her until he tapped her on her shoulder. "Thought that was funny did ye," Davy said as he watched her eyes go wide, the mirth still present in them. "How can you do that?" She tried to see how he was standing sideways on the hull but gave up. "I didn't really mean to hit you, Captain. My hand slipped," she giggled. Davy was fighting off the urge to laugh and was slowly loosing. He composed himself quickly before ordering her back to work and walked back up the hull to the deck.

It took her another hour of trying to scrape the barnacles before she gave up and used the shock from her shields to blast them off. Davy was surprised when she shot up out of the water and handed him the full bucket of barnacles. "Ok, now what?" "Now ye swab the decks," Davy said as he handed her a mop and bucket of soapy water.

She had done half of the deck so far in a few hours time, stopping only to go back over a spot that one of the crew had so considerately spilled something on. Like Clanker, for instance, thought it was so funny to eat fish and then throw the leftovers everywhere. She didn't even want to know what Jimmylegs had put on the deck, it smelled so bad. The final straw had been when Davy had come up behind her when she was almost done and throw the remains of lunch in the spot she had just cleaned. "I guess you'll have to do that spot over. You know, you make a fine cleaning lady, maybe having a woman on board isn't bad after all," he laughed. She didn't mean to do it, well not really, but as he turned around to leave the mop handle caught him right in the bulbous sack that was the back of his head. The 'squish' sound that was made almost seemed to echo and Davy stopped in his tracks. Just out of spite, she poked it again and reveled in the 'squish squish' sound it made. The crew immediately stopped all activities as they watched in anticipation as their Captain turned around, his eyes tinged with red. Vixey looked as if she was oblivious to what had just happened as he closed the distance between them and grabbed her arm with his claw. The crushing pressure was nothing compared to the bubbles of laughter that threatened to seep from her body. As he looked into her eyes, she could see anger as well as what looked like hurt. Or was that amusement? She still didn't know even after she was unceremoniously dropped on her rear. "You're done for now. But ye still have to keep the dress on.," he said as he went into his cabin and slammed the door.

Davy had a million thoughts running through his mind. It didn't hurt at all, just a poking feeling. But he didn't know what to do now. He had sat at his organ about to play until the sound of the door opening and closing brought him out of it. He was silent as she came up behind him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean to hurt you if I did. I mean I owe you so much for rescuing me and my son but I was just so frustrated. You have no idea how many times I redid that spot. You don't even want to know what Jimmylegs put there. As a matter of fact, I don't want to know." "Ye didn't hurt me Lass, well not physically anyway. I just never thought me head would ever make that sound." "You'd be surprised at what sounds the body can make," she chuckled. "So are we ok then? I mean you're not gonna flog me?" "Not today," Davy sighed. I might yell at ye in front of the crew so they don't think I'm going soft though." Vixey smiled. Was he getting soft with her? She kind of liked it, it had been a long time since someone was soft with her and she missed the contact. "Not to bring up any bad memories or anything but this dress was hers wasn't it, your lady friend?" Davy suddenly looked forlorn. "Aye, it was. How did ye know?" "As soon as I touched it, I could see its past. She was beautiful but stupid." Anger suddenly flared in his mind. "Why do ye say that?" "Because of how she treated you. You were a good man, still are but its buried deep under that hard exterior. And she broke your heart and made you feel the way you do about women. I guess we're two peas in the same pod. Only, well never mind. The important part is that both our hearts were broken and it made us distrust the opposite sex. There are only four men I trust completely. Three of them are on the Pearl headed for Tortuga. Which, I still cant believe I agreed to let Jim go. The other one I just squished in the head with a mop handle." Her words became one big jumble as he processed and this information. She trusted him? She could see the past by touching something? She thought he was a good man? He didn't know which of those thoughts bothered him the most but he realized something. That feelings that he thought were him caring for her was something more familiar. He had felt once before with Celeste. He was falling in love with Vixey.

At the same time Davy was realizing his feelings, Vixey had felt a change in the air. It wasn't a bad change by any means but a change like that usually meant she would get a vision soon. Her visions were never all bad or all good but they always came true. The tingling sensation that usually came before a vision hit her full force as the room around her faded and another took its place. She realized it was Jack's cabin and she was sitting in a chair holding a baby. Jayde, Jack, Davy and Jim were standing around her and Davy was actually smiling. Just at it had appeared it disappeared and she realized that Davy had asked her a question. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" I said what did you have to do to get Jack to take Toby as a cabin boy?" "Actually, I didn't do anything. Jayde did," Vixey said with a smirk. Davy didn't need to say anything, he knew exactly what she meant.

Across the sea, Jack and the others had gone to see Tia Dalma, and had learned Barbossa was alive. They were now headed to Tortuga. Jayde was at the helm when Barbossa came up behind her. "Well mermaid, we meet again." Jayde huffed and ignored him. "Giving me the cold shoulder I see, well that's fine by me. Pray tell what's happened to your Dragon friend and don't ignore me this time. Jim is her son, there is no denying it." "Aye" Jayde spat, "That is Vixey's son. And if'n ye like your extending extremities where they be you'll stay away from him." "Calm down," Barbossa said holding up his hands, "I be no threat to the pup. I was simply wondering what had become of her. She was right upset with me the last I saw of her." Jayde's anger flared. "Of course she was upset. You chose her over treasure, cursed one at that and she told you what would happen and you still took it. She knew what your lives would be like if you took the Aztec gold. So if I were you, I would forger she ever existed because I know she's forgotten about you." She was relieved when Gibbs came and took the wheel.

Jack looked up as Jayde stomped into the cabin and slammed the door. "Something wrong Luv?" Jayde huffed and flopped down on the bed. "Yeah something's wrong. Being dead hasn't changed Barbossa's attitude one damn bit. He's still a pompous ass." Jack gave her one of his trademark smiles as he stroked her back. "You're right Luv, he's is an ass and always will be. You cant change some people. Now let's get some sleep. Tortuga awaits us tomorrow." Jayde smiled and settled down under the covers as Jack blew out the light. Within minutes of Jack wrapping his arms around Jayde she was sound asleep.

Vixey, however was wide awake pondering her vision. Whose baby was she holding? It couldn't be hers. She didn't think she and Davy were anywhere near that stage yet, or were they? She finally decided it was a baby they would find on a plundered ship. It didn't sound very convincing but it was the only solution that worked.

Davy watched her pace until he couldn't stand it. "Would ye just sit a spell, yer driving me crackers. What be vexin' ya tonight?" "Just a vision I had, its nothing important," she said as she flopped on the bed and laid on her stomach. Vixey's explanation didn't fly right with him. "Feel like talkin about it?" Vixey was touched that he cared but she hesitated telling him what she had seen. Finally, she gave in and told him. "So ye saw yerself holding wee one. Is that uncommon for ye?" She thought about his question then shook her head. "No, I never pass up a chance to hold a baby. But still, a baby on a boat and in Jack's cabin no less? It doesn't add up to me." Davy had to admit she was right. Jack didn't seem to be the father type. "Ye know Lass, no matter what it is going on, you can always talk to me." She smiled as he sat down next to her and laid his hand on her cheek.

Davy's stomach was in knots as she leaned into his touch. Could she sense his feelings for her and did she feel the same way? "Yeah, I know I can trust you. As I said you're one of the four men I do trust completely." "Aye, and why ye trust Jack Sparrow I'll never know," Davy chuckled. Vixey looked up at him and smiled. "You don't know Jack like I do. There's more to him then the conniving, crazy pirate everyone sees. He has a kind soul and well I don't know exactly how to explain it except that I can feel what his true nature is." Davy nodded to show he understood. He stiffened as Vixey sighed and shifted to lay on her side, but she stayed in physical contact with him. "If I'm hurting you, I can move." Davy shook his head," Nay Lass, you're fine. Oh and you can take the dress off for now if you want." He thought he heard her mumble 'finally' but he wasn't sure. By now she had hung a sheet in the corner to change behind. He chucked as she almost tripped over the ruffles but his body was almost aching at the loss of contact. "Can you help me with the bodice? I think Bill tied it too tight and my eyes aren't on stalks like some of your crew." His hands shook as he lifted them to the knots. He hoped Vixey wouldn't notice it.

Vixey couldn't believe what had just come out of her mouth, but Davy's shaking hand told her that he was just as nervous as she was. It was if all she wanted was for him to touch her in in some shape or form. Finally, he had succeeded in untying the knots. "I'll have to tell Bill not to tie them so tight next time," he joked. "Next time? There is no next time. Next time you want to punish me just let Maccus or Jimmylegs whip me cuz that's what it will take to get me back in that death trap," she growled as she stomped behind the sheet to dress. Davy chuckled as the dress was unceremoniously thrown across the room. Vixey came out soon after wearing the clothes she had on when they found her and resettled herself on the bed. She could feel his hand hovering over her before finally placing it on the bed beside her.

Davy's mind was in a jumble as he decided whether or not to touch her again. He finally just laid it beside her. But he was shocked when she placed her hand over his. She wanted his touch! If he had his heart right now it would be soaring.

Vixey felt Davy jump slightly when she touched him and sighed to herself. She would get him used to this soon so he wouldn't jump. It made her heart hurt to think about what made him so cold and she made up her mind to rectify it. "Ye realize I cant be like this around the crew. I'll be me old cruel self when we're not alone," Davy said; his voice bringing her out of her thoughts. "I know," she said between yawns. "I didn't think you would be any different." "I should let you get some sleep," Davy said as he started to rise. But a hand on his stopped him. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. It-it makes me feel better knowing you're here. I didn't get much sleep in that cage and I still don't sleep well but maybe if you stayed," she trailed off. He understood what she meant. She wasn't asking to sit in his lap or anything shejust wanted him to know that she would sleep better if he stayed. Nodding, he made himself more comfortable as he leaned up against the headboard and stretched his legs out. He watched with amusement as she stretched like a cat before curling up beside him. She was asleep a few minutes before sleep finally claimed him too.

Vixey woke sometime later and noticed that during the night she has shifted so her head was on Davy's leg. She didn't know weather to move or stay still but she cracked an eye and saw that he was still asleep. She took this oppourtunity to study him. A slight smile was on his face and it made her heart melt. She yawned and shifted a bit to ease the pressure on her still healing rib before falling back asleep.

A few minutes later, Davy also awoke. He felt an unfamiliar weight on his leg and looked down. He was surprised to see Vixey's head on his leg. He realized the he didn't mind it so much and was surprised at how comfortable he was with the idea. He also realized he had a cramp in his leg but he didn't want to disturb her. She looked so peaceful, you would never know how wild she was by the way she looked now. He moved his leg just enough to get the circulation going again before turning his attention back to Vixey. Her hair had fallen around her face like a veil and she looked almost like an angel. A lock of hair had falling in her face and he gently tucked it behind her ear before drifting off again.


	9. Secrets and Betrayal

That was how Bill found them that morning when he came to deliver breakfast. He had knocked but no one had answered so he figured they were still asleep and made an effort to be as quiet as he could. As he carefully laid the tray on the table Davy sputtered and woke up. Bill didn't look in his direction as he continued to unload the tray's contents on the table. "Morning Captain, sleep well?" Davy realized that Bill had seen them together and while he trusted Bill to a point, he didn't want this getting out among the crew. "Mr. Turner if you speak of this to anyone not in this room it will be 50 lashes. Are we understood?" "Captain, what goes on between the two of you is your business and no one else. Permission to speak freely?" Davy eyed him for a moment before nodding. "I've noticed a change in this crew since Vixey came aboard. And the crew ain't the only one been affected. I've noticed a change with you as well, a good change. You're a good Captain, but doing the same thing day after day can get a mite bit dull. Vixey is just the ray of sunshine to fix that. Eventually she rubs off on everyone and I've seen her rub off on you too. I noticed it more when we were going to rescue her. You care for her, I know. I could see it in your eyes when you talked to her son. I think she has feelings for you too, but I think they go beyond caring. I think she's falling in love with you but she's scared to admit it to herself. She's scared it will turn out like all the others did and she's told me herself once before that her heart couldn't take it if something like that happened again. So if you do love her, be sure of it before you tell her. And if you want to whip me for saying these things I'll understand." Davy didn't know whether to be angry at Bill or at himself. It was true Bill was more observant then the other crew so there was no threat of them noticing the change in him. What angered him was that it was visible to someone that wasn't Vixey. "That will be all Mr. Turner." Bill nodded and left with a smile on his face.

Davy hadn't moved the whole time he had been talking to Bill and his leg was reminding him that it was still pined under Vixey's head. In the course of the night, Vixey's shirt had ridden up exposing a bit of her back and some of the scars from Beckett were visible. Davy touched the smooth skin before pulling down her shirt and slightly shaking her. "Lass, time to wake up." Vixey mumbled something and swatted at his hand. Davy chuckled and shook her more forcefully. "Lass, Bootstrap brought breakfast." Vixey opened one eye and stared at him. "You'd better not be joking about breakfast," she growled as she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

While they were eating Davy brought up her scars. "I thought you heal yourself?" "I do," she said between bite. "Why do you ask?" "I saw the scars Beckett gave ya," Davy said trying not to think of how smooth her skin was. "We heal quickly but it still leaves a scar. It makes for a good story." He watched her eat with interest. She didn't eat like a bird as most women did but she didn't eat like a beast either. He was so lost in his observations that he didn't notice she had stopped eating and was staring right at him. "Having fun watching me eat," she smirked. Davy glared at being startled. "I was just thinking that you should be able to start back with your duties today." "I was going to talk to you about that. I enjoyed my rest but I need to get back to work. Besides I'm sure Jacque is going crazy." "You've taken quite a shine to him, I've noticed," Davy said almost sounding jealous. Vixey smiled. "He reminds me so much of my father. I could always go to him if I had a problem and he wouldn't judge me or get angry the way Mom did. I could always count on him." "Sounds like ye had a hard time with yer mother. Was she like you?" Davy almost hated asking but he did say he wanted to know more about her. "Well," she sighed, "Mom was human but Dad was like me. Mom didn't know what he really was until after they were married. She still loved him but I could tell there was a trust issue. I didn't know she was having an affair with my uncle. Eventually my uncle caught my father off guard, killed my father and ran off with my mother. They didn't enjoy their freedom too long." Davy could see the anger flare in her eyes as she told her story. "My siblings were much too young to understand what was going on, except my brother Mark. I left him in charge of the rest of the kids. I tracked them to the island that used to be my home. They were on the beach laughing and drinking rum. Mom was already three sheets to the wind and my uncle wasn't far behind her. Once they saw me, they laughed at how I was too young to do anything. They didn't know Dad had been showing me how to use my abilities. My uncle attempted to fight me but he was too drunk to even get a swing in. I don't know if you noticed but when I'm fighting I go into a blood induced rage and I don't see much else. I ran my uncle through without hesitation. My mother dropped to her knees and begged for her life. It was in this moment of her blubbering that I found out she wasn't my real mother. She was just my stepmother that had married my father. My real mother had died giving birth to me. As I stood there in shock, she pulled a dagger from her boot and tried to cut my throat. I crushed her throat without a thought. So now you know the real story behind my family. If you want to hate me it wont surprise me." She spoke the last sentence with her head down, not daring to look at him for fear of what she would see in his eyes. She was surprised when he cupped her chin in his claw and lifted her head to look her in the eyes. "I have noticed your blood rage as you call it and you're magnificent when you are in it. As for the rest of it, I don't blame you one bit and I certainly don't hate you. You protected your family and avenged your father's death. No one can hate you for that." She smiled as she fought the urge to throw herself in his arms. They weren't ready for that much touching yet but she could use a good hug. "I guess I should get down to the kitchen. Thank you for listening." She left before he could say anything.

Jacque was busy cutting up ingredients for today's lunch when a pair of arms encircled his waist and hands covered his eyes. "Ay, I cant see. Get off a me before I done cut me fingers off." Vixey giggled and released him before grabbing him in a tight hug. " I cant help if I missed ya mate." Jacque grinned from ear to ear. "I missed ya too. Been kinda dull around here. How ya feel Chile?" "I've felt better, I can assure ya but Jim's safe and that's what counts." Jacque Tsked at her. "Chile, you're important too, and not just to me. The captain fancys ya." Vixey smiled at this. "I know, he told me he cared for me but I think it's more then that. And I told him I felt the same way but I feel so much more then just caring. I don't wanna say I love him but I think its kinda looking that way. When Beckett was holding me captive I thought I would never seen Davy or Jim again and it scared me. I don't want to lose him by telling him how I feel. I mean look what he did for a woman. I don't want to start something and let my heart get lined up to be broken again." "Chile, don' t'ink like dat. If de Captain love you then he will tell ya at the right time for both of ya. Bes' not to push it." Davy had come down the galley to find out what was keeping his lunch when he heard what Jacque and Vixey were talking about. His breath caught in his throat. She felt the same way he did? He made his way back to his cabin in a daze, trying to think of his next move. Finally he decided to see how things went. He would tell her soon.

A bit later, Vixey came in, balancing a tray on her shoulder. "Sorry your lunch was late, I had to catch Jacque up and then he wanted to hear all about what Beckett did to me." As she set the tray down, she noticed he was trying not to look her in the eye. She knew he had heard them talking. "By the way, didn't anyone tell you it's not polite to eavesdrop?" Davy harrumphed at this remark. "I'm the Captain. I don't have to be polite." Vixey only smirked. She knew he was embarrassed at being caught but she wasn't going to make any more out of it.

Three months passed and nothing more was said about what Vixey had said. Life got pretty much back to normal aboard the Dutchman. They did raids, collected souls and kept their ears open for anything about Beckett. Everything was fine until the day they crossed paths with the Pearl.

Clanker had first spotted the Pearl and it looked like they were trying to catch up with them. Jimmylegs had finally allowed it to come along side of them. Jayde had immediately come aboard and demanded to see Vixey.

Vixey was sound asleep when someone knocked on the door. Davy had been studying a map they had set up with the various Beckett sightings marked. "Enter." Clanker hated coming into the Captains quarters so Davy was surprised when he was the one knocking. "What is it Mr. Clanker?" "It be the Pearl Sir. They caught up with us and Jayde be demanding to see Vixey." At the mention of Jayde's name Vixey groaned and sat up. "Dear God what does she want this early?" "It aint early Vixey," Clanker pointed out. Vixey yawned and stretched as she stood up. "It is for her. Whatever she wants must be important."

Jayde was still arguing with Maccus when Vixey and Davy made their appearance. "Ok Chica, what's so important," Vixey said; her hands on her hips. Without a word, Jayde grabbed Vixey and jumped overboard as Jack and Jim made their way onboard. "What be going on Sparrow," Davy asked. "Beats me. Jayde's been actin peculiar ever since we left Tia Dalma's." Davy bristled at the swamp witch's name but said nothing else. Underwater however, was another story. As soon as they had hit the water, Jayde has encased them in a giant bubble. This was nothing new to Vixey. Jayde always did it when she had something serious to talk about. "Ok spill it, what's with the bubble." "Impregnantanditmightnotbejacks," Jayde blurted out. "Come again," Vixey said. She hoped she didn't hear right. "I said I'm pregnant and it might not be Jack's." Vixey looked at her with wide eyes. "Okayy so who else's could it be?" "Will." Vixey felt as if the floor had been pulled out from under her. "And just how did that happen?" "Well, we were celebrating the birth of his daughter and we both had too much rum and I thought he was Jack." Vixey was flabbergasted. "Ok well how much time passed before you were with Jack again?" "Maybe a couple hours. Afterwards, Will and I passed out and I woke up and realized where I was and hauled tail back to Jack's bed. Thankfully Will didn't remember a thing. Then a month later I realized I was pregnant. I don't know what to do." "Have you told Jack you were expecting?" "No, I don't know how he will act. We haven't even talked about kids." Vixey sighed and put her arms around Jayde. It's gonna be ok. I do know at one time Jack wanted kids. How is he doing with Toby?" "He adores him," Jayde said as a smile crossed her face. "There ya go then. If you want I can talk to him."

It seemed like hours had passed before the two finally surfaced. As the soaked pair made their way on deck, Davy could feel a change in the sea. He wasn't sure what it meant but he knew it had something to do with whatever just took place. Vixey didn't say a word as she took Jack's hand and led him to another part of the deck while Jayde say down on a coil of rope.

Jack knew Vixey had something on her mind as she drug him to the bow. "What be on your mind Luv?" "How do you feel about kids? I mean do you still want them?" "What brought this on?" "I-I was wondering how you were getting on with Toby." It wasn't the best lie but she had to think quickly. "We're best mates Luv. Is that what you really wanted to talk about?" "Yeah, I was just worried that having Toby around might have changed your mind about having your own kids one day. Don't tell her I told you but Jayde has always wanted a family of her own." "Of course I still want kids. I mean who wouldn't want more of me around? And having them with Jayde would be, well, a dream come true I suppose. Don't worry, I wont tell her what we talked about."

As the two came back to join the group, Davy could see something had changed in Vixey. She looked at Jayde and gave her a huge smile and nodded. Jayde had suddenly perked up at this and grabbed Jack and headed below. A few minutes later a loud "YOU'RE WHAT" could be heard. Davy looked over at Vixey was trying her hardest not to die laughing but she quickly lost that fight. "What be going on around here?" "Let's just say Jack just learned something new about himself," Vixey said between giggles. It finally dawned on Davy what she was talking about. "So the vision," he started to say. "Was about Jack and Jayde," Vixey finished.

It took a few minutes for Jack and Jayde to come out. Vixey had tried to connect with her but was sorry she did when she realized what was talking them so long. Davy noticed Vixey's face had gotten red for a moment but decided he really didn't want to know. He was somewhat relieved that the mystery vision was settled and also found he was a bit jealous of Jack. Jealous? Where had that come from, his mind wondered.

At the same time, Vixey had also been bitten by the jealousy bug. She was glad for her friends but she couldn't help but be envious. Her best friends had found love and were starting a family, something she still had yet to accomplish. True, she had found love and had children but she would have liked to have found it with the same man. Her thoughts were broken by a familiar voice. "Well then, is this what has become of ye?" The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she turned around. "Barbossa," she hissed.

Barbossa laughed as Vixey's tail swung back and forth as an agitated cat's would. "You always were a hellcat, Lass." "I thought you were dead.," Vixey spat. "Funny thing about death Lass, it ain't permanent if ye know the right people." "So ye went to see Tia Dalma, big deal. Why she would help your scurvy hide I'll never know." "People do crazy things for the ones they love." Vixey's head swam. Love? Where did that come from? Then her mind went back to all those times he went to see Tia and insisted she stay behind because Tia claimed that Vixey clouded her sights. "All those times you went to see her, you didn't start insisting I stay behind until after you found out what I was. I didn't make the connection until now." "I'm sorry Lass, you were a wild ride and one hell of a fighter but my heart belongs to her."

Davy had watched the exchange with interest. So Barbossa was alive and had been unfaithful to her. He could see her emotions brewing under the surface and wanted to kill Barbossa for making her feel this way. He knew she was hurting inside but he didn't know how he could help. Emotions were never really his thing. Until you met her, his thoughts reminded him. It was true, Vixey did make him feels things he hoped he would never feel again. But now he was glad he did feel them.

It was almost nightfall when he saw Vixey again. She had been busy with Jayde informing her of all the things she should and shouldn't eat as well as what to expect and so on. He paid it little attention and eventually had retired to his cabin. It wasn't too long after that she also came in. She didn't say a word as she climbed into bed, well not anything understandable anyway. He did catch some words that weren't ladylike but then again she wasn't exactly a lady. "You gonna flap your trap all night or are ye gonna to let me sleep," he half growled. "I still cant believe after everything I did for that man that he would cheat on me with the person I hated the most." " I didn't know he was with Beckett too," he joked. Vixey glared at him before rolling over onto her back. "That is wrong is so many ways, not to mention disgusting. The thought that someone would want to even see him naked or be naked in the same room with him just makes me ill." Davy chuckled at this before sitting next to her. "That was a rotten thing he did to ye, but its happened to the best of us." "I almost hate to ask but did Celeste ever, I mean was she faithful?" "I never caught her with anyone else but towards the end I always thought there was someone. I never had proof so I cant say for sure." "I gave that man everything, not to mention my heart. I even saved his life once and he repays me by bedding that swamp trollop. I even considered having children with him once. Now I wouldn't even spit on him if he was on fire." Davy could see the tears forming in her eyes that she refused to let fall. His feelings were at war. Part of him said to not show any feelings. The other part said to comfort her. Without a word her gathered her against his chest despite her struggles until she finally clutched at his lapels and sobbed quietly.

Later that night found him still holding a fast asleep Vixey. She had cried herself out a while ago but he was enjoying the feeling of a warm female body close to him and he didn't want to let go just yet. The damp spot on his shirt had his mind in a conflict. Would she think him weak now? She mumbled something in her sleep and pulled herself closer to him.

The next morning, Vixey found she was in a better mood. She was above deck at the railing watching he sun rising and her thoughts drifted back to this morning. She had woken up still in Davy's arms and her thoughts had been in a turmoil since. She had been at her weakest and he had still stood by her. She was so caught up in her musings that she failed to notice Davy walking up behind her. "No matter how many times I see it, it still amazes me," he said quietly. He chuckled as she nearly jumped out of her skin. As she turned around to face him, she could see he was wearing his stern Captain's face but his eyes were as compassionate as they were last night. "Thank you for last night. No one has ever seen me like that and didn't make fun of me. Well, other then Jayde but that doesn't count." "How's Jack taking the news," he said as he lit his pipe. "Well Jayde said he fainted when she told him then after she revived him they, um, celebrated and now he's got his whole crew drunk on rum. Except Jayde and Toby of course, I told Jayde if I caught her with rum in her hand no matter where I was I would make the container shatter before she could get it to her lips. She's assured me that she wouldn't though. I still cant believe Jack's going to be a father." "Aye, that be the one thing I'd never think I'd see. That, and me being one." The questions filled her mind as she stared at him. Hoping she wouldn't reveal herself by asking them, she pulled up her courage. "Didn't you want to be a father?" Davy sighed. He knew as soon as he said it she would ask. "Aye, I wanted to be a father once but Celeste never wanted children and after her, well I never thought I'd be in the position to be one." His mind ached to tell her the rest of what he was thinking but he knew he would damn himself if he did. On the other hand this might be the last chance he would have. "I know what you mean," she sighed. "I never thought I would meet someone I could trust to even have more children with." Until I met you, she thought. Davy blinked in surprise as what he heard in his head. "What did ye say Lass?" "Why what did you think I said?" Can you hear me? "Aye, I heard ye as clear as if you said it," he sputtered. "You said you trusted me enough to have children with me. Is that about it?" Vixey was flabbergasted. All that time she was held prisoner by Beckett she had tried to contact him but now when she could admit her true feelings for him, he could hear her thoughts. "Yeah, that's it. I mean, as far as feelings go, I don't think either one of us knows where we stand but as far as trust goes, I trust you enough that if I ever got bit by the maternal bug you would be on the list of men I trust enough to get that close. There aren't many on that list." Davy felt as if the floor had dropped out from under him. What she was suggesting, he didn't even want to begin to think about, not that it was a bad thing necessarily but she was right about not knowing where they stand.


	10. Arrivals, New and Old

That was how Bill found them that morning when he came to deliver breakfast. He had knocked but no one had answered so he figured they were still asleep and made an effort to be as quiet as he could. As he carefully laid the tray on the table Davy sputtered and woke up. Bill didn't look in his direction as he continued to unload the tray's contents on the table. "Morning Captain, sleep well?" Davy realized that Bill had seen them together and while he trusted Bill to a point, he didn't want this getting out among the crew. "Mr. Turner if you speak of this to anyone not in this room it will be 50 lashes. Are we understood?" "Captain, what goes on between the two of you is your business and no one else. Permission to speak freely?" Davy eyed him for a moment before nodding. "I've noticed a change in this crew since Vixey came aboard. And the crew ain't the only one been affected. I've noticed a change with you as well, a good change. You're a good Captain, but doing the same thing day after day can get a mite bit dull. Vixey is just the ray of sunshine to fix that. Eventually she rubs off on everyone and I've seen her rub off on you too. I noticed it more when we were going to rescue her. You care for her, I know. I could see it in your eyes when you talked to her son. I think she has feelings for you too, but I think they go beyond caring. I think she's falling in love with you but she's scared to admit it to herself. She's scared it will turn out like all the others did and she's told me herself once before that her heart couldn't take it if something like that happened again. So if you do love her, be sure of it before you tell her. And if you want to whip me for saying these things I'll understand." Davy didn't know whether to be angry at Bill or at himself. It was true Bill was more observant then the other crew so there was no threat of them noticing the change in him. What angered him was that it was visible to someone that wasn't Vixey. "That will be all Mr. Turner." Bill nodded and left with a smile on his face.

Davy hadn't moved the whole time he had been talking to Bill and his leg was reminding him that it was still pined under Vixey's head. In the course of the night, Vixey's shirt had ridden up exposing a bit of her back and some of the scars from Beckett were visible. Davy touched the smooth skin before pulling down her shirt and slightly shaking her. "Lass, time to wake up." Vixey mumbled something and swatted at his hand. Davy chuckled and shook her more forcefully. "Lass, Bootstrap brought breakfast." Vixey opened one eye and stared at him. "You'd better not be joking about breakfast," she growled as she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

While they were eating Davy brought up her scars. "I thought you heal yourself?" "I do," she said between bite. "Why do you ask?" "I saw the scars Beckett gave ya," Davy said trying not to think of how smooth her skin was. "We heal quickly but it still leaves a scar. It makes for a good story." He watched her eat with interest. She didn't eat like a bird as most women did but she didn't eat like a beast either. He was so lost in his observations that he didn't notice she had stopped eating and was staring right at him. "Having fun watching me eat," she smirked. Davy glared at being startled. "I was just thinking that you should be able to start back with your duties today." "I was going to talk to you about that. I enjoyed my rest but I need to get back to work. Besides I'm sure Jacque is going crazy." "You've taken quite a shine to him, I've noticed," Davy said almost sounding jealous. Vixey smiled. "He reminds me so much of my father. I could always go to him if I had a problem and he wouldn't judge me or get angry the way Mom did. I could always count on him." "Sounds like ye had a hard time with yer mother. Was she like you?" Davy almost hated asking but he did say he wanted to know more about her. "Well," she sighed, "Mom was human but Dad was like me. Mom didn't know what he really was until after they were married. She still loved him but I could tell there was a trust issue. I didn't know she was having an affair with my uncle. Eventually my uncle caught my father off guard, killed my father and ran off with my mother. They didn't enjoy their freedom too long." Davy could see the anger flare in her eyes as she told her story. "My siblings were much too young to understand what was going on, except my brother Mark. I left him in charge of the rest of the kids. I tracked them to the island that used to be my home. They were on the beach laughing and drinking rum. Mom was already three sheets to the wind and my uncle wasn't far behind her. Once they saw me, they laughed at how I was too young to do anything. They didn't know Dad had been showing me how to use my abilities. My uncle attempted to fight me but he was too drunk to even get a swing in. I don't know if you noticed but when I'm fighting I go into a blood induced rage and I don't see much else. I ran my uncle through without hesitation. My mother dropped to her knees and begged for her life. It was in this moment of her blubbering that I found out she wasn't my real mother. She was just my stepmother that had married my father. My real mother had died giving birth to me. As I stood there in shock, she pulled a dagger from her boot and tried to cut my throat. I crushed her throat without a thought. So now you know the real story behind my family. If you want to hate me it wont surprise me." She spoke the last sentence with her head down, not daring to look at him for fear of what she would see in his eyes. She was surprised when he cupped her chin in his claw and lifted her head to look her in the eyes. "I have noticed your blood rage as you call it and you're magnificent when you are in it. As for the rest of it, I don't blame you one bit and I certainly don't hate you. You protected your family and avenged your father's death. No one can hate you for that." She smiled as she fought the urge to throw herself in his arms. They weren't ready for that much touching yet but she could use a good hug. "I guess I should get down to the kitchen. Thank you for listening." She left before he could say anything.

Jacque was busy cutting up ingredients for today's lunch when a pair of arms encircled his waist and hands covered his eyes. "Ay, I cant see. Get off a me before I done cut me fingers off." Vixey giggled and released him before grabbing him in a tight hug. " I cant help if I missed ya mate." Jacque grinned from ear to ear. "I missed ya too. Been kinda dull around here. How ya feel Chile?" "I've felt better, I can assure ya but Jim's safe and that's what counts." Jacque Tsked at her. "Chile, you're important too, and not just to me. The captain fancys ya." Vixey smiled at this. "I know, he told me he cared for me but I think it's more then that. And I told him I felt the same way but I feel so much more then just caring. I don't wanna say I love him but I think its kinda looking that way. When Beckett was holding me captive I thought I would never seen Davy or Jim again and it scared me. I don't want to lose him by telling him how I feel. I mean look what he did for a woman. I don't want to start something and let my heart get lined up to be broken again." "Chile, don' t'ink like dat. If de Captain love you then he will tell ya at the right time for both of ya. Bes' not to push it." Davy had come down the galley to find out what was keeping his lunch when he heard what Jacque and Vixey were talking about. His breath caught in his throat. She felt the same way he did? He made his way back to his cabin in a daze, trying to think of his next move. Finally he decided to see how things went. He would tell her soon.

A bit later, Vixey came in, balancing a tray on her shoulder. "Sorry your lunch was late, I had to catch Jacque up and then he wanted to hear all about what Beckett did to me." As she set the tray down, she noticed he was trying not to look her in the eye. She knew he had heard them talking. "By the way, didn't anyone tell you it's not polite to eavesdrop?" Davy harrumphed at this remark. "I'm the Captain. I don't have to be polite." Vixey only smirked. She knew he was embarrassed at being caught but she wasn't going to make any more out of it.

Three months passed and nothing more was said about what Vixey had said. Life got pretty much back to normal aboard the Dutchman. They did raids, collected souls and kept their ears open for anything about Beckett. Everything was fine until the day they crossed paths with the Pearl.

Clanker had first spotted the Pearl and it looked like they were trying to catch up with them. Jimmylegs had finally allowed it to come along side of them. Jayde had immediately come aboard and demanded to see Vixey.

Vixey was sound asleep when someone knocked on the door. Davy had been studying a map they had set up with the various Beckett sightings marked. "Enter." Clanker hated coming into the Captains quarters so Davy was surprised when he was the one knocking. "What is it Mr. Clanker?" "It be the Pearl Sir. They caught up with us and Jayde be demanding to see Vixey." At the mention of Jayde's name Vixey groaned and sat up. "Dear God what does she want this early?" "It aint early Vixey," Clanker pointed out. Vixey yawned and stretched as she stood up. "It is for her. Whatever she wants must be important."

Jayde was still arguing with Maccus when Vixey and Davy made their appearance. "Ok Chica, what's so important," Vixey said; her hands on her hips. Without a word, Jayde grabbed Vixey and jumped overboard as Jack and Jim made their way onboard. "What be going on Sparrow," Davy asked. "Beats me. Jayde's been actin peculiar ever since we left Tia Dalma's." Davy bristled at the swamp witch's name but said nothing else. Underwater however, was another story. As soon as they had hit the water, Jayde has encased them in a giant bubble. This was nothing new to Vixey. Jayde always did it when she had something serious to talk about. "Ok spill it, what's with the bubble." "Impregnantanditmightnotbejacks," Jayde blurted out. "Come again," Vixey said. She hoped she didn't hear right. "I said I'm pregnant and it might not be Jack's." Vixey looked at her with wide eyes. "Okayy so who else's could it be?" "Will." Vixey felt as if the floor had been pulled out from under her. "And just how did that happen?" "Well, we were celebrating the birth of his daughter and we both had too much rum and I thought he was Jack." Vixey was flabbergasted. "Ok well how much time passed before you were with Jack again?" "Maybe a couple hours. Afterwards, Will and I passed out and I woke up and realized where I was and hauled tail back to Jack's bed. Thankfully Will didn't remember a thing. Then a month later I realized I was pregnant. I don't know what to do." "Have you told Jack you were expecting?" "No, I don't know how he will act. We haven't even talked about kids." Vixey sighed and put her arms around Jayde. It's gonna be ok. I do know at one time Jack wanted kids. How is he doing with Toby?" "He adores him," Jayde said as a smile crossed her face. "There ya go then. If you want I can talk to him."

It seemed like hours had passed before the two finally surfaced. As the soaked pair made their way on deck, Davy could feel a change in the sea. He wasn't sure what it meant but he knew it had something to do with whatever just took place. Vixey didn't say a word as she took Jack's hand and led him to another part of the deck while Jayde say down on a coil of rope.

Jack knew Vixey had something on her mind as she drug him to the bow. "What be on your mind Luv?" "How do you feel about kids? I mean do you still want them?" "What brought this on?" "I-I was wondering how you were getting on with Toby." It wasn't the best lie but she had to think quickly. "We're best mates Luv. Is that what you really wanted to talk about?" "Yeah, I was just worried that having Toby around might have changed your mind about having your own kids one day. Don't tell her I told you but Jayde has always wanted a family of her own." "Of course I still want kids. I mean who wouldn't want more of me around? And having them with Jayde would be, well, a dream come true I suppose. Don't worry, I wont tell her what we talked about."

As the two came back to join the group, Davy could see something had changed in Vixey. She looked at Jayde and gave her a huge smile and nodded. Jayde had suddenly perked up at this and grabbed Jack and headed below. A few minutes later a loud "YOU'RE WHAT" could be heard. Davy looked over at Vixey was trying her hardest not to die laughing but she quickly lost that fight. "What be going on around here?" "Let's just say Jack just learned something new about himself," Vixey said between giggles. It finally dawned on Davy what she was talking about. "So the vision," he started to say. "Was about Jack and Jayde," Vixey finished.

It took a few minutes for Jack and Jayde to come out. Vixey had tried to connect with her but was sorry she did when she realized what was talking them so long. Davy noticed Vixey's face had gotten red for a moment but decided he really didn't want to know. He was somewhat relieved that the mystery vision was settled and also found he was a bit jealous of Jack. Jealous? Where had that come from, his mind wondered.

At the same time, Vixey had also been bitten by the jealousy bug. She was glad for her friends but she couldn't help but be envious. Her best friends had found love and were starting a family, something she still had yet to accomplish. True, she had found love and had children but she would have liked to have found it with the same man. Her thoughts were broken by a familiar voice. "Well then, is this what has become of ye?" The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she turned around. "Barbossa," she hissed.

Barbossa laughed as Vixey's tail swung back and forth as an agitated cat's would. "You always were a hellcat, Lass." "I thought you were dead.," Vixey spat. "Funny thing about death Lass, it ain't permanent if ye know the right people." "So ye went to see Tia Dalma, big deal. Why she would help your scurvy hide I'll never know." "People do crazy things for the ones they love." Vixey's head swam. Love? Where did that come from? Then her mind went back to all those times he went to see Tia and insisted she stay behind because Tia claimed that Vixey clouded her sights. "All those times you went to see her, you didn't start insisting I stay behind until after you found out what I was. I didn't make the connection until now." "I'm sorry Lass, you were a wild ride and one hell of a fighter but my heart belongs to her."

Davy had watched the exchange with interest. So Barbossa was alive and had been unfaithful to her. He could see her emotions brewing under the surface and wanted to kill Barbossa for making her feel this way. He knew she was hurting inside but he didn't know how he could help. Emotions were never really his thing. Until you met her, his thoughts reminded him. It was true, Vixey did make him feels things he hoped he would never feel again. But now he was glad he did feel them.

It was almost nightfall when he saw Vixey again. She had been busy with Jayde informing her of all the things she should and shouldn't eat as well as what to expect and so on. He paid it little attention and eventually had retired to his cabin. It wasn't too long after that she also came in. She didn't say a word as she climbed into bed, well not anything understandable anyway. He did catch some words that weren't ladylike but then again she wasn't exactly a lady. "You gonna flap your trap all night or are ye gonna to let me sleep," he half growled. "I still cant believe after everything I did for that man that he would cheat on me with the person I hated the most." " I didn't know he was with Beckett too," he joked. Vixey glared at him before rolling over onto her back. "That is wrong is so many ways, not to mention disgusting. The thought that someone would want to even see him naked or be naked in the same room with him just makes me ill." Davy chuckled at this before sitting next to her. "That was a rotten thing he did to ye, but its happened to the best of us." "I almost hate to ask but did Celeste ever, I mean was she faithful?" "I never caught her with anyone else but towards the end I always thought there was someone. I never had proof so I cant say for sure." "I gave that man everything, not to mention my heart. I even saved his life once and he repays me by bedding that swamp trollop. I even considered having children with him once. Now I wouldn't even spit on him if he was on fire." Davy could see the tears forming in her eyes that she refused to let fall. His feelings were at war. Part of him said to not show any feelings. The other part said to comfort her. Without a word her gathered her against his chest despite her struggles until she finally clutched at his lapels and sobbed quietly.

Later that night found him still holding a fast asleep Vixey. She had cried herself out a while ago but he was enjoying the feeling of a warm female body close to him and he didn't want to let go just yet. The damp spot on his shirt had his mind in a conflict. Would she think him weak now? She mumbled something in her sleep and pulled herself closer to him.

The next morning, Vixey found she was in a better mood. She was above deck at the railing watching he sun rising and her thoughts drifted back to this morning. She had woken up still in Davy's arms and her thoughts had been in a turmoil since. She had been at her weakest and he had still stood by her. She was so caught up in her musings that she failed to notice Davy walking up behind her. "No matter how many times I see it, it still amazes me," he said quietly. He chuckled as she nearly jumped out of her skin. As she turned around to face him, she could see he was wearing his stern Captain's face but his eyes were as compassionate as they were last night. "Thank you for last night. No one has ever seen me like that and didn't make fun of me. Well, other then Jayde but that doesn't count." "How's Jack taking the news," he said as he lit his pipe. "Well Jayde said he fainted when she told him then after she revived him they, um, celebrated and now he's got his whole crew drunk on rum. Except Jayde and Toby of course, I told Jayde if I caught her with rum in her hand no matter where I was I would make the container shatter before she could get it to her lips. She's assured me that she wouldn't though. I still cant believe Jack's going to be a father." "Aye, that be the one thing I'd never think I'd see. That, and me being one." The questions filled her mind as she stared at him. Hoping she wouldn't reveal herself by asking them, she pulled up her courage. "Didn't you want to be a father?" Davy sighed. He knew as soon as he said it she would ask. "Aye, I wanted to be a father once but Celeste never wanted children and after her, well I never thought I'd be in the position to be one." His mind ached to tell her the rest of what he was thinking but he knew he would damn himself if he did. On the other hand this might be the last chance he would have. "I know what you mean," she sighed. "I never thought I would meet someone I could trust to even have more children with." Until I met you, she thought. Davy blinked in surprise as what he heard in his head. "What did ye say Lass?" "Why what did you think I said?" Can you hear me? "Aye, I heard ye as clear as if you said it," he sputtered. "You said you trusted me enough to have children with me. Is that about it?" Vixey was flabbergasted. All that time she was held prisoner by Beckett she had tried to contact him but now when she could admit her true feelings for him, he could hear her thoughts. "Yeah, that's it. I mean, as far as feelings go, I don't think either one of us knows where we stand but as far as trust goes, I trust you enough that if I ever got bit by the maternal bug you would be on the list of men I trust enough to get that close. There aren't many on that list." Davy felt as if the floor had dropped out from under him. What she was suggesting, he didn't even want to begin to think about, not that it was a bad thing necessarily but she was right about not knowing where they stand. Vixey didn't see much of Davy the rest of the day. It was for the better she figured. After the bombshell she dropped on him and as much time they had spent getting as close as they were she figured they both needed a breather. Davy's thoughts were in a turmoil. She trusted him enough to have kids with him. That was being pretty close in his book. He was unsure of how to continue at this point.

Jacque was busy preparing the evening meal when Vixey came in. "There ya be Chile, been looking for ya." "Sorry, lot on my mind. But I'm here now." Jacque could see something was different about her as she hopped up on one of counter tops and chewed her bottom lip. "Ok, Chile, spill it. What be on your mind?" She stared at the floor for a minute before answering. "There's just so much that's changed in the last few days I just feel like I'm being left in the wake of it. I mean, Jayde's pregnant, Barbossa's alive I told the Captain how I feel and Beckett's still out there." Jacque held up a tentacle. "Hol' up one minute there. You told de Captain how you feel? What did you tell him?" "I told him that I cared for him and that I trusted him enough to have children with if it ever got to that. I didn't tell him that I think I'm falling in love with him." Jacque tsked at her. "Chile, I believe you told him to much information." Vixey just chuckled and shook her head. "Maybe, but I bet it made him think differently about us."

It was later that night when she saw him again. He hadn't been in his room when she had brought supper and she figured he had just stepped out so she had gone back to help Jacque. He had been playing the organ when she came to bed and the second she closed the door he stopped. "No need to stop on my account." "You've had me thinking about what you said all day," he said as she sat on the bench beside him. "Well, we got in the subject of having kids and I was just letting you know if there comes a time where you get to wanting to be a father you have someone you can talk to. I didn't say that to make you feel uncomfortable." She slowly rose and was heading for her bed when he stopped her. "I didn't say it made me uncomfortable. It means a lot to me to hear you trust me to be that close to me. I've never had that before, not even with, well you know who. It got to a point that I didn't trust her and I realize now that I never trusted her." She could see the sadness in his eyes and knew exactly how he felt. Without thinking she put her arm around him. It was a close as they had ever been and as he realized it he realized that she meant every word.

The next few months seemed to fly by. Things had changed since the night Vixey had told Davy how much she had trusted him. Every morning she would get up and help Jacque with breakfast which she would then eat in Davy's quarters with him. They would go about their duties, occasionally harvesting the souls they would find in shipwrecks and Vixey was given the job of filling the new recruits in on how things worked on the Dutchman and what to be expected of them. Things were going wonderfully until they raided a ship called The Albatross. As they boarded the ship, Davy could feel a change in Vixey. She was nervous, and anxious. "What vexes thee, Lass?" "I know this ship. It was my father's some centuries ago but I saw it sink." Could it be that someone just named their boat The Albatross," Davy pointed out. "Oh sure, and the copied it down to the last board too. If you go down to the brig my initials will be carved in the wall opposite the first cell."

Sure enough, there were the initials 'VJM'. "That be you then," Davy asked as he pointed them out. "That it would. Vixey Jakara Maru at your service." "Quite a tongue twister of a name ye got there." "Blame Mom, she loved strange names," Vixey said smiling. "I had a sister named Calliope, and four brothers. Dad got to name the middle two but Mom named the oldest Kane and the youngest Solan. Where she got those names I'll never know. Dad stuck to normal names. Kyle was between me and Kane and Gabriel was between Calliope and Solan. Only Kane and I were different." Davy didn't have to ask what she meant. He knew she was talking about her abilities. As they went back above, Vixey could see the crew had collected the survivors. As they got towards the end of the line, she noticed one of the men looked familiar. A young man , possibly in his late twenties, with long brown hair and deep brown eyes. He looked so much like Ian. She grabbed him by his shirtfront and stared into his eye. "Who be you father Boy?" "I wont tell you anything," he spat. Vixey smiled, it had to be Ian's son. "You're Ian's boy, no doubt in my mind about that." At the mention of Ian's name the boy's glare softened. "You knew my father?" Vixey's heart sank. "Knew?, Is he dead?" "My Uncle killed him trying to get this ship, but I killed him first." "Aye, I knew your Uncle. Aiden always did want this ship. IT was my father's, you know. What be your name?" "Phelan, and I know it was your father's. My father raised it up from the depths and fixed it." "Why would he do that," Vixey wondered aloud. "He thought of you father as his own. I know my grandfather left when he was young and your father took him in after his mother died." "Yeah, I remember that," Vixey smiled.

Davy watched the exchange with interest. So a little more of her past reveals itself, he thought. As he looked at the boy, he could see a few non-human attributes that reminded him of Vixey. The boy's ears were pointed, to be sure and his eyes were black. As they continued their talk, Davy also noticed a black tail had sprouted from the boys pants.

It was later that day before the two ships parted ways. Vixey was currently at the rail watching the departing boat get smaller and smaller. Davy had been silent the whole time she had been speaking to the boy and as the boat disappeared he heard her give an almost inaudible sigh. "What be on your mind Lass?" Her face caught the light of the setting sun as she gave slight smile. "Ian and I grew up together. We were what you would call childhood sweethearts. When we were older, we talked about having children and getting married but he met Amelia and all that changed. I thought I would be jealous at one point or another, but I never was." "There a point to this story," Davy said as he lit his pipe. "Not really. I just, well, never mind. I don't know where I was going. Seeing Ian's son brings back a lot of memories and not all of them are good." "I understand what you mean," Davy said softly. Celeste briefly came to mind but he waved it off as he followed her into the cabin.

Later that night found her dreaming of the past. It started out nice enough with Ian and his brother playing with her as young children but it soon changed to a more sinister dream as she saw Aiden kill Ian then go to Phelan. But as Aiden raised his hand to stab him, Phelan changed into Jim and Aiden changed into Becket.

Davy awoke suddenly, not knowing why until he heard her whimper. As he approached the bed, he could see that she had curled up into a ball and was shaking. She was saying something over and over again but he couldn't make it out until he got within an inch of her. She was saying 'not Jim.' As he reached out to shake her, her hand shot out and grabbed his arm. He was surprised at her strength and even more surprised when she sat up. A wind came from nowhere but was totally centered around the two of them. Her hair had turned silver as well as her eyes. "Lass?" When she spoke it was a hollow unearthly voice. "Davy Jones, the time will come for you to choose. Your decision will not be an easy one but it is imperative that you choose wisely." "What do ye mean a choice," Davy spat angrily. "And who be ye to order me about?" "Who I am is not as important as what I am. My kind have been around long before the dawn of time, before man, before the world was created. This vessel I occupy is the last of her kind with extraordinary powers, some of which she is unaware of. Do not loose her, for the next time will be the last." He knew the being was speaking of Vixey's capture. "Aye, I know. Becket wanted her by any means necessary." "I know of whom you speak. It is true he had a plot to rule the world and if not for you, he would have succeeded and she would be his slave as well as his concubine. There is more to the curse that she does not know. Should the one called Becket sire a child with her while she is the monster, only then could he create a beast that could not be killed. This beast would kill its own mother if ordered." Davy's head swam with this new information. "Does Becket know of this?" "No, the swamp witch withheld that from him, for now. I must leave you now, but I will tell you this. Only her true love can break the curse." With that, Vixey's eyes and hair reverted back to their normal color and she relaxed and sneezed. "Damn I hate it when she does that. What earth shattering news did she deliver this time?" "Ye knew about her," he sputtered. "Yeah, I call her the Elemental, but she's been doing that a long time." "Well if she had control over you, don't you know what she said," Davy asked hoping she didn't. "While I am aware she is in my body and aware when she leaves, I am not aware of what she said. It's very frustrating." "I'll bet."

Davy proceeded to tell her everything the Elemental had said, noticing the way her face paled when he mentioned the part about the beast. "What's wrong lass?" "Just before she took over, I was having a nightmare about Becket killing Jim." "I thought only your visions came true." "They do, but in a rare occasion a dream will come true," Vixey sighed. "I suppose we need to catch up with the Pearl then," Davy finally said. The look Vixey gave him was worth more then all the souls in the world.It was two weeks before they caught up with the Pearl, but even then they still had to catch it. As soon as they had caught sight of the Dutchman, they had sped up. "What the devil is Jack thinking," Vixey wondered.

Jack had nothing to do with it. Jack was sound asleep in his cabin when Gibbs knocked on the door. "Better be rum on the other side, Mate." "Jack, it's the Dutchman." Jack was instantly sober.

By the time Jack had dressed, Vixey and Davy had come aboard. Vixey noticed that Jack had large bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept in weeks. "Ok, I know that look Jack. Bags under your eyes, being quiet, shirt dirtier then usual. That's the look of a new father." "Aye, Jayde had a the lil bugger." "A boy then?" Vixey had felt a new life as soon as she had stepped aboard and it was defiantly male. "Aye, has me eyes," Jack said proudly. "Poor thing, has to go through life looking like you," Vixey teased. "So what do owe the pleasure of your visit?" Davy proceeded to tell him all that the Elemental had said. Jack had raised his eyebrows at the true love part but said nothing else. "We need to protect Jim at all costs and warn Tia not to tell Beckett anything else. I'd tell her, but well you know how well we get along," Vixey said as she rolled her eyes. "Aye, I'm heading that way so I'll tell her. But do you really think she would tell him something like that?" "If the price was right," Vixey grumbled. "So where is the new mother?" "Asleep, finally. Anamaria is watching the baby for her."

Jack led them down to the cabin and sure enough, Jayde was sound asleep. Vixey had seen her this tired before and nothing short of a cannon blast would wake her. Anamaria was sitting in a rocking chair, holding a beautiful little boy with jet black hair and brown eyes that were so much like Jack's. Ana took one look at Vixey's face and without a word, handed her the baby.

Jayde awoke slowly to see Jack and Davy huddled around the rocking chair. She was about to go back to sleep but then the fact that Davy was here penetrated her sleep fogged brain. Where Davy Jones was, Vixey wasn't far behind. Sure enough, Vixey was holding the baby. "Nice to see you've joined the land of the living,," Vixey said without looking up. "I see you've met the newest Sparrow." "Yeah. What's the little darling's name," Vixey said as the baby grabbed her finger. "Well, we're still playing around with names," Jayde sighed. "Well how about Lucius Teague? Lucius after Jayde's father and Teague after Jack's? You could call him Luke or LT." "That's a great idea Luv. I always did like me father's name." "Ok, ok you men shoo for a bit. I need to talk to Vixey for a few minutes." "Go ahead Luv, don't mind us men folk," Jack said as he sat on the bed and crossed his arms. "Okay, your funeral," Jayde said as she turned to Vixey. "So were your breasts still tender after you gave birth?" "Well, to be honest," Vixey started before Jack clamped a hand over her mouth. "Don't answer that Luv." "Aye," Davy said as he started for the door, "we're leaving."

As soon as the men were out the door, both women collapsed in a fit of giggles. "Works every time," Vixey snorted. "So what's on your mind fish butt?" "It's about Lucius' father. I think he's Jack's but I'm still not sure. He look's like Jack, but there's this certain face he makes that reminds me of Will. Oohthere is it." Lucius' face was scrunched up in an all too familiar way that every mother knows. "Hun, every baby has that face when they make." "Make what," Jayde said. "Are you sure you're not blonde? He's pooping. That's defiantly Jack's boy."

Meanwhile Jack and Davy had gone above deck, both still wore a look of shock and revulsion. "I hate it when Jayde starts on her female problems, thank goodness Ana's here so they can share." Davy chuckled at Jack's statement. He had never had to deal with female problems and he wasn't about to start. "So you're a father now, any plans on making Jayde Mrs. Jack Sparrow?" "Aye, I had thought about it. But I'm not so good with romantic things, Mate." "You should talk to Vixey then, she knows Jayde better then anyone." As Davy said the last few words, Vixey and Jayde came above deck with Jayde holding the baby. "You missed one of the rites of father hood," Vixey smirked. "And what would that be Luv?" "Changing a soiled diaper." "Done that once already." Vixey chuckled. "Once Jack? I hate to tell ya but once ain't it. There will be plenty more." "Fine, I'll catch the next one. Think I could talk to ya Mate?" Vixey nodded and followed Jack to the helm. He only called her Mate when it was serious. "What is it?" Jack looked around nervously before answering her. " I want to ask Jayde to marry me but I don't know what to say or when to say it." "Well, I wouldn't say it just before, during or right after sex or if you're loosing and argument. "I'd try maybe at sunset or during a rainstorm but not a hard one. As for the words, just say what's in your heart and be sincere." "Do ye think she'll accept?" Vixey smiled at his eagerness. "Hun, she's wanted to be Mrs. Jack Sparrow ever since she met you. So what do you think?"

Meanwhile, Jayde was busy telling Davy all about what had happened since they last saw each other. "We had to stop looting ships when I got into my 8th month. Jack was afraid I would go into labor early but he had nothing to worry about." "Is he a good father?" "Yeah, he is. I mean, it took him a bit to get used to holding and feeding the baby and I had to all but threaten him to change a diaper," Jayde giggled. "So why did you come find us," Jayde wondered aloud. Davy proceeded to tell her all that had happened with the dream and the Elemental. "She's still doing that? I swear she needs to retire. I remember one time, Vix and I were trying to see who could drink who under the table and the next thing you know, Poof. The Elemental takes over and spouts something about Jim and leaves. When Vixey comes out of it and I tell her what she had said, she took off like a flash. Never did find out who's a better drinker." "I'd wager it be Vixey from what Silver says," Davy chuckled. "You mean you believed that crock? They might have been a little tipsy but they were never out of control. Vixey tried to tell me that one and I knew better right off. She never did admit it though." Davy never did get a chance to say anything else because Jack and Vixey came back. "So where is Jim," Vixey finally asked. "Last we saw of him and Silver, they were in Tortuga." Vixey's jaw dropped at Jayde's statement. "So let me get this strait, knowing Becket is after him, you let them go to the seediest part of the Caribbean alone." "What were we supposed to do Luv, sit on him," Jack said. "Yes, if that's what it took to keep him safe." "I'm sorry Luv, we'll go get him, its not that far," Jack assured her. "For your sake as well as the world's it better not be."


	11. The Point of No Return

Meanwhile in Tortuga, Mercer had noticed Jim in one of the taverns and had alerted Becket. What he didn't know was that Jim had seen him too and was waiting for Becket. He was tired of all the runaround and tired of his mom being so stressed out. He knew the whole legend now after talking to Tia and he knew that Becket knew as well. How he got the information, Jim didn't know but he didn't want any of it to happen. He wasn't worried so much about his death but it didn't exactly thrill him either. He looked up from his drink as Silver came in. "Well, me Lad, what's the long face about?" "I just saw Mercer." Silver's face fell immediately. "We'd better leave then." "No, I want Becket to come. I'm tired of Mom having to look over her shoulder all the time and worry about me. I want him dead." "Lad, I know ye hate him for what he did to yer mum, but killing him isn't the answer." "You know Mom would." Silver sighed, he knew the boy was right. "That don't mean you should too." "Dad, don't you want to keep her safe? I mean I know she can take care of her self, but when she was captured, I felt like my whole world had been pulled out from under me. I don't want to feel that way again." Silver's pride had swelled when Jim had called him Dad. It was not something he did frequently, only when he was trying to get his point across. He sighed and shook his head. The boy was right. Vixey would take every opportunity to kill Becket but he knew Vixey would give him hell if he allowed Jim to try to kill Becket. He could only hope that Vixey showed up before Becket did.

As Tortuga came into sight, Vixey could feel Jim's anger and hoped she was not too late. She couldn't see any of Becket's ships around but that didn't mean anything. Davy could sense her unease and wished he could do something about it. "Ye know he'll be ok." She said nothing only giving him a slight smile. He had gotten used to her expressions now and knew that that one meant she was too worried to think about anything else. He watched as her tail came into view and twitched in irritation. He knew she didn't have to wait for them to get close, she could just fly over there. But she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

Finally, they were close enough for her to go ashore. It had been decided that Vixey would go ashore alone and Jayde would be the lookout for any of Becket's ships. Neither Davy nor Jayde was keen on it but Vixey wouldn't have it any other way. Davy had a suspicion she knew something they didn't.

He would be right. She had had a dream the night before. She had gotten to Jim in time but Becket had shown up and killed him before she could get to him. She knew what would happen to her if that happened, and she was dead set on preventing it.

Becket spotted the Dutchman as it headed towards Tortuga. He knew she would come and soon he would have his revenge. The swamp witch had nothing else to tell him so she said but he knew she was lying. There was more to the curse and he would find out what.

It seemed to take forever to get to Tortuga. The tension mounted as they get close enough for Vixey to row ashore. As Davy watched her prepare, he noticed she kept stealing glances at him. Finally, he cant stand anymore and takes her aside. "What be agitating you Lass?" Before she could answer, Bill came around the corner. "We're as close as we can get Vixey." She gave him a weak smile. "I'll be there in a second." She made sure he was gone before she stared up at Davy. "Even though I know the outcome, I still have to go. Its just the way things are. Just promise me you'll watch out for Silver." "I will Lass, but quit talking as if you're not coming ba-," the word died in his throat as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her for the most passionate kisses he'd ever received.

Before he knew it, it was over and she had jumped into the longboat and was lowered into the ocean. He realized he was clutching something in his claw. He looked at the writing before rushing to the railing, hoping to stop her. But she was almost ashore. Bill saw the look in his normally stern Captain's eyes as he followed him into his quarters. "What is it captain?" Ignoring the fact that Bill shouldn't have taken such liberties, he slammed the paper onto the table. Bill's eyes went wide as he read the note.

'_This may be the last chance I ever get to tell you how I really feel as I know Becket will carry out his evil plot that turns me into a monster. I dreamt of it last night and I knew that if I told you, you would have found some way to stop me. My only hope is that you and the Pearl can find some way to reverse it. This is how is has to be. I'm sorry Davy. I love you.'_

Davy watched Bill's eyes go wide as he read the last sentence. "She's right, if I had known what would happen I would have tied her up, anything to keep her from going to her doom." "Isn't there anyway to help her?" "All we can do now is wait for Silver to come back."

As Vixey made her way to the pub Jim was in, he thoughts went back to the man she had just kissed. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she came to a stop at the pub door.


	12. Changes

Jim looked up from his mug to see his mother walk in. "Uh oh." Silver heard his exclamation and looked where Jim was gazing. "Yer mom looks pissed." "I guess Jack must have told her where we were." Vixey caught sight of them and stomped her way through the crowd to stand in front of them. "James Francis Hawkins what in the world do you think you are doing?" "Um, sitting at the bar talking with Dad." "Don't you get smart with me young man, you know what I mean." Jim sighed, he knew he was in for it now. "I was going stir crazy on the boat and Dad went with me so I wouldn't be alone." Vixey's heart melted as he called Silver 'dad' so casually. But she couldn't loose focus. "You're in danger here. Becket is coming for you and if I loose you," her voice faltered as she tried not to think of what would happen. "I know he's coming. I'm going to kill him so he never causes you any more trouble. You deserve to be happy Mom." It was at that moment that everything went to hell in a basket.

The door was kicked open as Becket's men flooded in the small pub. Vixey could see Mercer and Becket stroll in through the middle of all the carnage and fighting as she kept Jim at her back. "If something happens to me, get Jim out of here," She yelled to Silver. "No way Mom, we're not leaving you this time." Vixey knew it was hopeless to try to argue with fate but she had to try. "I mean it Jim, he cant kill me but he can kill you." Her next words of warning was drowned out over the clanging of swords as she blocked Mercer from slitting her throat. "I see Becket's little lap dog has made his appearance. Why don't you go hump someone else's leg for a awhile." "You won't be so cocky when Becket has control over you."

Silver watched As Vixey and Mercer fought, trying to keep his eye on Jim. But he noticed Mercer seemed to be herding Jim somewhere. In horror he realized Jim was being led to Becket. With his mind, he tried to warn Vixey but she was concentrating too much on Mercer to hear him. He fought his way through hundreds of soldiers until he got to Vixey. "I'll hold Mercer off, you go help Jim. They're herding him like cattle right to Becket." Vixey dropped her human disguise and unfurled her wings as she flipped over the crowd to land if from of Jim. "You might want to look where you're going instead of what's in front of you," Vixey yelled as she crossed swords with Jim. Jim smiled at the traditional gesture. They had been doing it as long as he could remember. "Well excuse me, I don't have eyes in the back of my head like you do," Jim yelled back.

The next few moments crawled as if in slow motion and Becket caught her off guard and stabbed through her body to go through Jim. Vixey only felt a slight pressure as her senses registered Jim falling and a pool of blood blossomed beneath him. It was Vixey's worst nightmare come to life as she gathered Jim up in her arms and yelled to Silver to follow her. With one punch, Silver knocked Mercer unconscious and hefted him over his shoulder as he high tailed it out of there.

Davy was beside himself as he paced the deck. He couldn't lose her now, not after what he'd been through. As he looked toward the docks, he could barely make out a small figure heading this way. As he squinted he realized that it was the longboat.

Vixey cradled Jim's head in her lap as she used the wind to push them towards the boat. "M-mom?," Jim weakly croaked. "Shh, its ok. Save your strength," she whispered as she wiped a trickle of blood from his cheek. She fought the tears that were threatening to fall as she raced towards the Dutchman in hopes that Davy could save him. "D-dad, where's Dad?" "I'm right here lad," Silver said as he brushed the hair out of Jim's eyes. "I'm sorry Dad." "Fer what?" "For being so stupid, I thought that I could take care of Mom's problem but I was just being stupid." "Nay Lad, you were just trying to help yer Mum and no matter what, I'm proud of ye." "I love you Dad." Silver choked as he heard the words he'd been waiting to hear for a long time. "I love you too Jim, now save your strength."

After what seemed like an eternity, they made it on board the Dutchman. Davy's head swam as he saw Jim with a deep wound in his chest. He was barely breathing. Davy knew the boy was done for, but the look Vixey gave him made him wish otherwise. "What happened?" Then he caught sigh of Vixey's shirt, stained with blood. "Not all of that is his,' Vixey said catching where his gaze rested. "That filthy bastard Becket went through Vixey to get to Jim," Silver spat. "Is there anything you can do for him," Vixey said in a whisper. "Lo-Lass, the only thing I can do is make him one of us." "That wouldn't help, he'd still be dead, undead, whatever. He wouldn't be alive," Vixey said not catching what Davy almost called her. "No, you're right. The only thing we can do is make him comfortable. What about you?" "If Jim dies it wont matter anymore,' Vixey sighed. "Of course it does Love," Davy whispered. But even as he spoke, Vixey could feel Jim's life slipping away. "Can't ye heal him Love, Silver said. "It doesn't work on family, remember. I can try though." As she concentrated on the wound, she could feel her power leaving her body to absorb into his. But it wasn't working. That was proved as her power bounced back and threw her into the mast.

Davy cringed at the sickening crack the echoed as Vixey was slammed into the mast. At the same time, Jack and Jayde were climbing onto the Dutchman's deck but all they could do is stare in horror at the scene before them.

Shakily Vixey claimed to her feet, assisted by Clanker and Bill. Davy ached with wanting to push them out of the way and take her in his arms but now was not the time. As she knelt down beside Jim, she knew her time was limited. Her senses registered someone standing behind her and she didn't need to look up to see who. "I don't have a lot of time here so listen carefully. The Elemental was right. You can save me, but to do it, you need to get your heart back," she said quietly so Jim couldn't hear. "What do I need to do?" Before she could answer, Jim gasped and then went still. Vixey could feel the blood still draining from the wound in her chest and her heart pounding in her head as she felt the change begin.

Everything seemed to go into slow motion as Davy heard the cracking of bones and tearing of ligaments and tissue as Vixey's body was transformed. Her wings grew longer and thicker, almost 8 feet across. Her once beautiful face elongated into a dragon's snout as her body grew bigger and taller. A layer of black scales now covered her body and long, wicked looking talons appeared on her finger and toes as she dropped to all fours. When the transformation was finished, a large black dragon with green eyes stood in front of them. Her eyes wore an expression of hurt as she looked from Jim's body to Davy. Then her eyes settled on Mercer, who was just coming to. His eyes went wide when he saw her. "So he wasn't lying. Too bad for your son, the whelp would have made a fine soldier. You'll make a fine addition to the crew. " Her voice was the last thing to change as she listened to Mercer's taunting. "Too bad it be a crew you'll not be seeing again in this world," she growled, her voice taking a gravelly tone. Vixey leapt over her son's body to tackle Mercer to the deck. Before anyone knew what had happened, Vixey ripped across his belly with her claws. Her battle cry was more of a roar now but Davy could hear the mournful tones mixed with it. Finally bored with clawing Mercer into a bloody hunk of meat, she ripped out his spine through his throat.

Jack watched the events unfold in horror before attempting to approach Vixey. "Luv, you got to snap out of this." Vixey whipped around and growled at him, her tail lashing back and forth. "Go tell the Swamp Witch not to tell Becket or anyone else about the rest of the curse, and also tell her we have a score to settle." "Alright Luv, what else?" She cast a sorrowful look at Jim before turning back to Jack. "Bury him on the island he was born on, at the top of the hill with everyone else." "Of course Luv." "And Jack," she lowered her voice so only he could hear, "Help Davy get his heart back. It's the only thing that will save me." As she finished the last word, she could feel her voice disappear. All she could do now is roar or growl. She found that her mental link with Jayde was still active as well as a new one.

Jack gulped when she mentioned the heart. She now knew what he knew about the heart. But how did she find out? As Jack pondered this, none of them noticed the ship that sailed up beside them. "Well isn't this touching," a familiar voice rang out. Everyone looked to see Becket smiling triumphantly. "I see the witch was right. Come Dragon." Vixey couldn't stop herself from obeying him as she jumped over to his ship.

Davy felt his heart sank as he watched Vixey grab Mercer's body before uttering her sorrowful roar as she boarded Becket's ship. He watched Becket's ship sail further and further away until it disappeared. He knew it was useless to go after them without his heart. It was strange how many feelings were still there even though his heart wasn't. But he never felt them until she came into his life.

Vixey was also feeling the loss, several in fact. Jim's death was the hardest by far but leaving Davy came in close second. As she watched the Dutchman get smaller and smaller, she realized that there was no more hiding from it. She could finally totally admit to herself that she loved Davy Jones.

Vixey was given free roam of the ship but was ordered not to leave it. She realized that she had a mental link with Becket, a thought that made her sick. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, Vixey found that it blurred together. Time meant nothing to her as Becket made her destroy ship after ship. Many a pirate fell to her mighty strength as well as her ice breath, an ability she discovered by accident. She had hoped she wouldn't be capable of it but luck was not on her side.

Meanwhile, life on the Dutchman and the Pearl was almost at a standstill. The only thing they had done so far was to bury Jim via Vixey's wishes. Davy still couldn't set foot on land for a few months so he settled with standing on a water jet at the top of the cliff. His mind swam with possibilities on how his heart could help her.

Jack's mind was also swimming. He couldn't figure out a way to tell everyone that he knew where the heart was all along. Jayde knew something was up but she was so busy with the baby she didn't have time to ask him. He knew Davy would be inclined to run him through but with his attachment to Vixey he might be spared. He hated doing anything to help Davy Jones but if it would help save Vixey he would do anything. With heavy heart, he made his way to the captain's quarters and knocked on the door.

Davy was not happy to see Jack Sparrow, that much was sure but he was more curious as to why Jack would come to him. "Jack Sparrow, what be yer purpose in me cabin?" "I know who has yer heart."

Davy saw red. Jack knew where his heart was all along and didn't say anything. "Where be it then?" "Becket has it. I don't know how he got his hands on it but if we can figure out where he keeps it, we can get it back, attack his ship and kidnap Vixey." "Why kidnap her? She'll want to leave Becket." "Aye, but he's ordered her to stay on board and she'll fight us tooth and claw whether she wants to or not." Davy thought about this for a moment. "How do ye know he ordered her to stay onboard.?" "Jayde said her mental link is still intact. Vixey tells her everything they do and where they are. Becket has a mental link with her too but he doesn't know about the one she has with Jayde." "Aye, and let's hope it stays that way. If Becket decides to use me heart against me he really will rule the world; land, sea and air." "There's something else Jayde said but she didn't make much sense. She said that Vixey told her she has another mental link and its not with Becket." "Maybe it be with you then," Davy muttered. He didn't dare hope the link was with him, that would be wonderful. "No, it's not with me. I tried. It's not Silver either. I gather it be you. Has she tried to contact you?" "No. Has he hurt her yet?" "I don't think so. But I don't think he would have to unless he just wanted the sheer thrill of it." Davy said nothing at that, he knew Jack was right. With Vixey under his control, there was no need to hurt her unless he just wanted to torture her. "We must find out where Becket keeps the heart. Only then can we plan for a rescue." "What if he has Vixey guarding it?" Davy knew Jack could be right. Could he hurt her to help her? He knew she'd forgive him but would he be able to forgive himself if he had to fight her? "Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Ask Jayde to see if she can get Vixey to tell her." "I was just going to suggest that," Jack grinned as he headed off to find Jayde.


	13. Rescue and Solace

Author's note: sorry it took so long, things are really crazy with my sister entering her ninth month. I hope to work on this as much as possible until the baby is born and with POTC 3 coming out this week hopefully i will get more ideas. So please bear with me and thanks to grizzlelvr and Masteroth for thier reviews

Three weeks went by but to Vixey and those that were close to her it felt like longer. In that time Becket had made her attack 20 ships, all pirates. Those that she didn't kill were captured and sent to the hangman's noose. It made her blood boil to have Becket control her but she could do nothing about it. IT was as if her body and mind were two unconnected things. She could see herself do these things but was helpless to stop them. Her mind kept going back to Davy. Where was he now? She thought that she could hear his voice sometimes in her head but she knew she was just imagining things. Her heart sank at the thought of not being by his side. She and Jayde has "talked" briefly and she had asked how Davy was doing. Jayde told her that he didn't say much but she could tell he missed her. Jayde also told her to keep her eyes and ears out for mention of the heart. Oh how she wanted to be herself again and be in Davy's strong arms. As she sat at the bow that night, she stretched her mind out as far as she could. She found herself on the Dutchman. It wasn't very far behind her. She reached out a little more and found herself in Davy's cabin. He was sitting at the organ, playing wildly but as she thought his name, he stopped.

The organ did little to sooth his mind but it helped a little. He was halfway through the song when he felt a presence. He whipped around to find no one. But Vixey's voice was in his mind. Davy? He remember what Jack had said about another connection and he found that when he stretched his mind out, he could almost see her in her true form. Vixey, Love is that you? He could see her smile a little. I knew the other connection was you. Has Becket hurt you any? No need to. I'm under his complete control. I just wish I could fly.  Davy smiled as she thought this. When you're free of his curse I want to know what it feels like. He could feel her smile at this. As soon as I am free of this we can make that happen. She chuckled as she said this. Suddenly she looked behind her. I have to go. Someone's coming. Vixey, I love you. But she was gone before he could say it. The Dutchman's crew all agreed that the song he played that night was the saddest one ever.

Vixey turned around to see Becket leering at her. "Doing a little stargazing are you? It is a beautiful night. How are you liking your new job?" I hate it, you know that, she sneered. "No matter, you will do as I say for eternity or until I die. And you are not to harm me. As a matter of fact, you are to fight off anyone who tries to hurt me. That includes your friends on the Black Pearl and The Flying Dutchman. Do I make myself clear?" Yes. "And from now on you are to call me Master." Vixey growled and said nothing. "Do I MAKE myself clear," Becket repeated again. Yes, Master. "Good, now go to your quarters." Without a word, she slunk down to the hold.

It was later that night when her keen hearing picked up a thumping sound. Quietly, she crept up the stairs and followed the sound to Becket's quarters. She crouched down and carefully looked in the keyhole to see Becket and Norrington mulling over a map of the world. On his desk sat a leather bag that twitched every so often and made the thumping sound she had heard. Her heat leapt as she realized what it was. Quickly, she made her way back to her room. She had to tell someone and she knew just who it would be.

Davy awoke in a cold sweat. He had dreamed for the first time in a long time and it wasn't a pleasant one. He had dreamed that Becket had killed Vixey. He shook those thoughts out of his mind and tried to go back to sleep. Just as he was about to drift off, he heard Vixey's voice in his head. I found it, I found it. Found what Lass, he answered back. Your heart. Becket had it on board all along. If I can, I will try to get it. No Lass, you let us do that. We'll be there soon. Without so much as a goodbye, Vixey cut off communications. Davy knew it was because she was excited. He celebrated to himself as he went above deck, yelling for all hands as he sent Bill over to the Pearl.

As soon as everyone was gathered, he told them what Vixey had said. "We cant rely that Vixey will be on our side when we get over there. Becket has no doubt given her orders to protect him at all cost. When we attack, I want someone to sneak into Becket's office and steal the heart." "I'll do it," Jayde said as she stepped forward. "No Lass you'll be staying here and take care of our wee one," Jack soothed. "That's Bull Shark if you think I'm gonna sit around while my best friend is in trouble. Cotton's agreed to stay behind and watch the baby." Jack was about to protest when he saw the look on Jayde's face. If he ever wanted to think about getting lucky again he would go along with it. "Alright Luv, you're in, but be careful."

As they got closer to the ship, Jack was glad Vixey had transferred control of Neko to Jayde. If Becket had ordered Vixey to call him, the Pearl would have been sunk. But Neko was also feeling Vixey's absence. He trailed behind the ships calling mournfully. Jack would be glad when they had Vixey back. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since she left. Between the baby crying and Neko bellowing who could sleep?

Jack wasn't the only one lacking in sleep. Becket hadn't let Vixey sleep much since she got here, not to mention eat. It was a wonder she was even standing. The only thing she ever got to eat was whatever she could kill or steal. Her first human kill Becket had made her eat, a thought that still made her gag. She still had nightmares, most involving Jim. Goddess how she missed him.

It was some time later that she noticed a ship getting closer. It wasn't the Pearl and it definitely wasn't the Dutchman. On closer look, she realized it was the Albatross.

Phelan had gotten Jayde's SOS some time ago and was just now catching up with the Pearl to join the fight. He had been informed of Vixey's situation and was willing to join the battle to free her. If Vixey and his father was so close he would help her, no matter what the costs.

Vixey could feel the anticipation build as Becket's men noticed the Albatross. She hoped that Phelan would stay out of harms way but as much as he looked like Ian, chances were he acted like him too. She hoped Becket wouldn't ask her to fight him but she knew he would. She gave a silent prayer to keep him and everyone else safe as Becket ordered her to his side. "More of your pathetic friends trying to help you. No doubt. No matter. You will deal with them if they try anything wont you, my pet." Don't make me fight him. You've already taken my son from me as well as my humanity. What more could you possibly want from me? Becket chuckled at her angry thoughts. "My dear, I haven't even begun to take from you." In a brief flash, Vixey could see Becket's thoughts and all of them involved destroying the ones she loved. "Perhaps, I will make you fight Davy Jones. Now that would be an interesting sight. But then again, you're both immortal. Perhaps, that sea beast of yours can sink all three ships." Nice try, I transferred control over him right after I changed. I knew you would figure out sooner or later who controlled him. I didn't think it would take you so damn long though. Becket fumed at this as he thought of all the things he could make her do to the ones he loved. He had just opened his mouth to order her to attack the Pearl when the ship lurched, throwing him to the deck floor. A loud bellow was accompanied by a loud thump from the Dutchman as Neko and the Kraken joined forces. As the soldiers rushed forward to the rails, out the corner of her eye Vixey saw Jayde flip quietly on deck and slip into Becket's cabin. IN an instant, the crews of the Dutchman and the Pearl boarded and began attacking Becket's men. Vixey didn't see Davy anywhere but her search for him was cut short as the Kraken gently grabbed her around the waist as another tentacle wrapped around Becket's leg and hauled them both over to the Dutchman.

No one noticed Jayde slip into the cabin but it wasn't empty when she finally got inside. Norrington was sitting at the desk polishing his sword. "You," Norrington and Jayde said simultaneously. "I thought I was rid of you years ago," Norrington said as they crossed blades. "Funny, so did I. I guess we were both wrong." "I can't let you leave this room alive you know," Norrington said almost regretfully. "Well I'm immortal so that's gonna be kinda hard." "But fun to try," Norrington said as she matched him parry for parry and thrust for thrust.

Back on the Dutchman, the Kraken had deposited Vixey gently to her feet and dropped Becket in a heap on deck. Vixey immediately flocked to Davy's side as Becket composed himself. "You do realize that the game is over. Not only do I have control over Vixey, I also have your heart Captain Jones. In more ways then one I do believe." He stared directly at Vixey as he said this and Davy knew Becket knew how he felt about Vixey. "Mr. Turner, silence our visitor before I rip his lying tongue out." Vixey smiled at Bootstrap, well as best as her draconic face would allow, as he bound and gagged Becket before he could say another word.

Back in the captain's quarters, Jayde had finally disarmed Norrington and had tied him up. "You know I hated to do this James, but I want Vixey back to normal. It isn't right what Becket's done to her." "I know," he said quietly. "I never meant for her son to die. Had I known what he had planned for her I would have never agreed to it. I fear I have chose the wrong side this time." "Then do something about it, help me get Vixey back to normal. If Jack cant protect you from Becket then Jones can." Norrington seemed to think about her words for a minute. "All right, I'll help you. But you must trust me. Becket must still think I am on his side. Who controls the sea beast, I know Vixey must have transferred control." "She did, to me. She knew that Becket would try to use him eventually. But as to what you're suggesting, I have a plan. First, I get the heart and hide is somewhere on me, then you act like you caught me trying to steal the heart and at the last minute, we'll surprise them." Norrington agreed and with the heart stored in a secret pocket in her shirt, they headed back on deck. Jayde had tied her hands loose enough that she could get out of them in a hurry, but when they emerged on deck they found that most of Becket's men had been tied up or killed. Becket was no where to be seen and neither were Vixey or Davy. Jayde untied her hands and wound her way through the crowd to find Jack. "What happened?" "Jones' men happened. Bein' undead has its advantages Luv. 'Sides, everyone sorta gave up when the Kraken took Vixey and Becket to the Dutchman." Jayde scoffed and immediately called Neko to the side. "Take me over to the Dutchman." As Neko began the trip, Jayde looked over her shoulder at Norrington and Jack. "Thank you James." Norrington said nothing as he straitened his uniform as Jack stared open mouthed at him. "What exactly is she thanking ye for?" "For choosing the right side for once."

Back on the Dutchman, Vixey was relaying to Davy all the horrible things she wanted to do to Becket. He would agree with them and add something else to it, but nothing compared to the death of Jim. But they both knew they could do nothing until the heart was recovered. Vixey had just said that when Jayde hopped off of Neko's head and handed Davy a small bag. "I think this be what you're looking for." "Aye, now what Lass?" But Jayde suddenly went still before The Elemental spoke through her. "Davy Jones, now is the time to choose. You must choose to either free Vixey or damn her to the life in this form." "Aye, what do I have to do?" "To free her of this curse, you must share your heart with her. You will each feel the pain of the other and will be joined for all eternity. Do ye accept?" "Aye," Davy said as he handed the heart to The Elemental before looking at Vixey. "I would give you me whole heart as well as me life to free you." "Then it is settled. Heart to heart, pain to pain. I bind two with one heart, one pain. For all eternity will your heart be shared." She held up the heart to the heavens as a bolt of lightning came from nowhere and split the heart in two pieces. The Elemental took a dagger from thin air and made a cut in Davy's chest and put one half in it then repeated the action with Vixey. To Davy's surprise, the Elemental gave him the dagger. "This will be needed in time." They watched as Vixey was surrounded by a glowing light that got brighter and brighter until they couldn't see her anymore. Then it faded, leaving Vixey in her regular form, her very naked regular form. Davy cleared his throat as he took off his coat and handed it to her. "You'll catch your death, Love." Her eyes burned simultaneously with love for him and hatred for Becket as she spread her wings and put the coat on. "I leave you with a final word of warning," the Elemental said as Jayde's body glowed with energy, "kill Becket while you have a chance. If he gets free he could kill you both." The glow faded as Jayde sneezed. "Whoa, what a rush. Nice you have you back finally. Jack's about to drive us all out of our minds and wait until you see how much Lucius has grown."

There was great rejoicing on the Pearl when Vixey appeared, now fully dressed, on Davy's arm. They had left Becket with Maccus and Jimmylegs. Davy had promised them a crack or 50 with the whip and Vixey had readily agreed, something that worried Davy. He understood her need for revenge but he didn't want it to consume her. But still, he wanted a crack at Becket himself.

They celebrated well into the night but no one noticed Vixey slip away to the Dutchman, nobody except Davy and Silver. Without a word, they headed back to the Dutchman and found Vixey sitting on the crosspiece of the mast. Her wings were unfolded and floated slightly with the breeze. It was clear she had been crying a while. "Lass," Silver gently called. Vixey made no motion that she had heard him. All of a sudden she leaned backwards and slipped off the crosspiece only to flip in midair and land on her feet in front of them. "I just had to get away from everything. Becket never did give me time to grieve and all of a sudden it hit me. MY son is dead and Becket will die a thousand deaths if I have any say in it." Without another word, she stalked to the cabin and slammed the door. "I hope you can reach her Mate," Silver said to Davy, "if anyone can it's you." "I only hope she'll open up and grieve like she should or it'll just eat away at her. I know she'll want to grieve with you separately but I want to try to help her now." Silver just nodded as Davy headed into the cabin.

As he entered the room, at first he didn't see her because of the darkness. Then there was a slight sound as a lamp was lit and he could see her sitting on the bed as she set the lamp on a hook on the wall. "Ye don't need to be alone Love, but I'll respect yer wishes if ye want me to leave," Davy said quietly. "No," she sighed, "I had hoped you would come after me. You have no idea how much I want him to suffer. Do you know the only food I could eat was human. He refused to let me eat or do anything without his permission. Maybe I should make him eat human flesh. Or maybe we should just starve him, either one is too good for him." "Now calm down, I know ye want revenge but ye don't want to stoop to his level." Vixey said nothing at this, she knew he was right. She didn't move as he crossed the floor to sit beside her on the bed. The closeness was driving her crazy, her emotions in a turmoil. This was the man who saved her by sacrificing his heart, well half of it. But he had doomed himself to feel every hurt she would ever feel. She didn't realize that meant emotionally as well. He knew exactly what she was feeling as he put his arm around her shoulder and drew her to lean against him.

All she could think about was his arm around her and his warm body next to her. He was giving her comfort without her saying a word. All at once the emotions overtook her and she felt her resistance dissolve as she broke down and sobbed into his chest.

Hours later, she had cried herself to sleep, still against his chest. He sighed and leaned her back to lay on the bed when her eyes fluttered open for a second then closed again. "Davy?" "Aye, Love?" "Stay with me tonight, please? I don't know if I can sleep tonight but if I can, I would sleep better in your arms. Sounds cheesy I know, but I know I'm safe with you." "Nay, it doesn't sounds cheesy Love. I'll stay." She could feel the tentacles in his beard run through her hair as she sYour Banned If I see This!!ed against him. The crab claw hand gently brushed a stray hair out of her face before coming to rest across her stomach. Both were asleep in no time.


	14. Proposals and trickery

Author's note: thanks for being so patient with me. i just realized that i had updated on my other site but not here. so this is a double post. please bear with me the next few weeks. my sister is dilated 2 cm so i am on baby watch. thanks for all the feedback. remeber that _italics_ are thoughts.

The next morning found her well rested as well as calm.. As her sleep fogged mind cleared, she realized she wasn't alone. Something warm and solid was pressed up against her and the arm around her waist tightened. "How do ye feel this morning," Davy yawned. "With my hands, same as everyone else." "Ye know what I mean Love. Are ye still a revenge hungry monster?" Vixey giggled. "Was I that bad?" "Well unless you call wishing that Becket would die a thousand deaths bad then no," Davy chuckled. Vixey had to admit, she still wanted revenge but it wasn't like it was before. Last night it ran through her blood like a disease, driving her ever move, invading her every thought. "I suppose it was the remainder of the beast inside me. Either that or you did something to calm me." Davy said nothing as he watched her sit up and stretch her wings, one barely missing the back of his head, before folding them behind her. "That was on purpose," Davy finally said. "What?" "You almost catching me on the back of me head with those sheets you call wings." "No actually it was accidental. If I was gonna hit you on the back of the head it would have been harder and actually have made contact. Like this," she said as she cuffed him on the back of his head and knocked his hat off. Davy stared at his hat for a moment before tackling her to the bed. Vixey didn't understand what was going on until she felt his fingers on her ribs. She couldn't believe it. Davy Jones was tickling her. "Oh now this means war," Vixey grinned as she reversed their positions. Now he was the one pinned down, Vixey tickling his chest and his ribs until; they were caught up in an all out tickle fight.

Most of the crew were either drunk or still asleep, except for Bootstrap and Maccus. Maccus shook his head when he heard Vixey giggling. "Well, I don't know what they're doing but they're having an awful lot of fun doing it." "It's good her mind's off of things. I don't think the Captain wants her to see Becket just yet." "No, but I would like to be there when she does. From the way she acted last night, she'd likely tear him apart."

Back in the cabin, the tickle fight had died down to a shoving match then to a staring contest. Finally Davy broke the stare by taking her in his arms and hugging her tightly. "I was so afraid I would lose you, Love." Vixey was surprised at his actions. "Well now you cant. There's only one way I can die but that would involve killing both of us at the same time." "That will never happen," Davy said as he straitened his rumpled clothing. "Well I suppose we'd better be getting ourselves on deck." As much as she hated to admit, he was right. She would have loved to stay in the cabin with him forever but they both had duties.

Before he opened the door he pulled her to him for a mind blowing kiss, an action that shocked her. When they finally moved apart, neither one could speak for a minute. "I've been holding that one for a while now, Love. Ye know I cant be like this once we're past that door." "I know but that aught to hold me until I can get you back in here tonight." Before he could say anything else, she opened the door and headed on deck.

She was greeted immediately by Maccus and Clanker. "We still have Beckett in the hold," Maccus said, "What would you like us to do with him?" Vixey sighed. "You know I want a crack at him and I know Silver will as well but let's just wait until the Captain comes out and see what he wants to be done. Keelhauling's to good for him I'll say that." The tell tale THUMP of Davy's crab leg stopped anything else from being said as Davy glared at the three. "Mr. Maccus, Bring Beckett to me." "Aye, Captain." "Mr Clanker, take the helm." Clanker saluted and left to carry out his orders, leaving Vixey alone with Davy. "What are my orders, Captain?" Davy smirked at her as she sent him a mental image of the kiss they had shared moments ago. "You are to remain here. I have a feeling you will want to be present for what comes next." "I thought I was psychic one around here." Davy glared at her, a silent as well as a mental warning to remember to respect his position. I got your position, she sent back.

A few minutes later, Beckett was brought on board and thrown at Vixey's feet. Vixey gave Davy a confused look. "Now, Lord Becket," Davy said ignoring her look, "you have one chance to save yourself. Convince the lady that you deserve to be spared of her wrath." "I beg for no one," Beckett spat. "Have it your way. Lass, have your way with him and don't spare the torture." Without a word Jimmylegs handed her the whip and stepped back.

Vixey could see the wounds crisscrossing Beckett's back. His normally perfect wig now had strands of hair sticking out wildly. "Well first of all, this has got to go." She yanked his wig off and threw it behind her. "Hmm, never took you for a blonde Beckett but we all have our flaws. Now, to clear things up, I never meant to cause your family so much grief, however your ancestor was a womanizer and a drunk. Not quite the nobleman everyone thought him to be, I know but not a person I saw myself with none the less." She began to walk in circles around him as she talked. "I was more then willing to let it go that you kidnapped my son, and even more so the fact that you captured me but you had to go and kill my only son, the one blood relation I had left. As for killing you, yeah sure I want to. An eye for an eye and all that but you're still more or less human and as much as I would love to kill you, that would be too good for you. Not to mention too quick, no what I have in mind for you is much worse. If I could, I would make you part of this crew. Though I care for all of them deeply, I know how hard it is for them to be what are and I don't think you can handle it. But, they cant die either so that's out of the question. What I propose for you can be long and painful or it can be short and painful, your choice. It all depends on you." "What about me?" "I want an apology and a good reason why you killed my son. I don't want to hear because you wanted to rule the world, I want a good reason other then revenge." "You dare presume to order me around? I'm not at all sorry I killed that half breed you called a son and the only reason I killed him was revenge." Beckett showed no fear as he spoke, something that made Davy angrier. What shocked him was that Vixey showed no reaction to his words. "I see, well then Cutler Beckett, you leave me no choice." With that, she raised the whip and brought it down across the crotch of his pants. Beckett fell to his knees as the crew winced and muttered among themselves. Even Davy couldn't help but cringe at that. While Beckett was on his knees Vixey kicked him in the seat of his pants, causing him to fall to all fours. "There now, that's more fitting for a dog like you. Now crawl like the mongrel you are." With those words she flicked the whip several times across his thighs and rear, grinning as he tried in vain to crawl away from her. "Lass, is that all you have for him," Davy asked half hoping she would say yes. "I don't know really. Nothing can bring back my son or take away the pain he caused but just an endless flogging is too good for him. Why don't we let the crew take a turn with the whip, then we can go from there." "Or we could just kill him," Maccus suggested." "Or," Vixey said quietly, "we could let his father and godparents take out their pound of flesh." Davy looked into her eyes as she said this. He could see that she was tired of dealing with Beckett. "It's settled then. Mr. Turner, head over to the Pearl and bring back Sparrow, Jayde and Silver." "Aye Captain," Bootstrap said as he disappeared to carry out his orders. "I'm heading down to the galley, let me know when they come back." Davy watched as Vixey headed towards the galley. He figured she was going to talk to Jacque or get something to eat. Either one would do her good.

Jacque looked up from the cutting board as Vixey stomped down the steps. She seemed to be muttering something under her breath. "What be wrong with ye Chile? Ye got Beckett right where ye want him and de Captain's given you free run to do what ye want to him. Ye should be sitting high on de dog by now." "You know, I never have understood that phrase. Who would want to sit on a dog? You're right, I know but deep down I know it wont satisfy me. Even if I'm the one that kills him, it wont help." "So you're gonna let him live then?" "Hell no, of course I'm gonna kill the little bastard but it wont satisfy me. Well it will satisfy the beast in me, the rest of me not so much." "Here," Jacque said as he handed her a bowl of something hot. "I'm not hungry." "Eat it anyway Chile, you haven't eaten in two days." Vixey's mind swam. Had she been so out of it that she hadn't eaten? "Aye Lass, it's been two days since ye last ate. De Captain tole' me that if you didn't eat soon he was gonna sit on you and shove it down your t'roat." Vixey smiled and began to eat the delicious smelling stew as Maccus came into the galley. "Good, you're eating. The Captain wanted me to tell you that they've arrived."

Some time later, Vixey came back above deck. "What took ye so long," Davy asked. "Well, let's put it this way, now you don't have to sit on me." Davy chuckled as the rest of the ship looked confused. "So what's going on," Jayde finally asked after the laughter had died down. "It's a free for all on Becket," Vixey said as she handed Jayde the whip.

"What are you talking about Luv," Jack said as he eyed the whip in Jayde's hand. "I'm tired of torturing him for now and I figured you three might want a crack at him before I finally decide to kill him, which by the way will be soon." Jayde looked horrified as Silver took the whip out of her hand, "let's not all jump at once then. I'll go first. Did ye really think ye'd get away with killing my son?" Jayde jumped at every crack of the whip. Silver struck Beckett across the back, thighs and chest a total of 47 times before he quit. "Anyone else?" "As much as I want revenge on Beckett, this isn't the way Luv. But I would like to know when you decide to kill him," Jack said as he took the whip from Silver and handed it back to Jimmylegs. "I agree Vix, I know you think we all want revenge and I know I do but only when he is dead will get it. But I wont torture him, as much as I want to," Jayde said. "I can live with that," Vixey said as she gave one last kick to Beckett's ribs before turning to Davy. "Your turn, my Captain."

Davy looked surprised at this. "Are you sure you're done with him Lass?" "For now, or at least until I kill him. Oh wait, I just had a wonderful idea. Didn't we salvage that cage he had me in?" "Aye, we did." "Good, do what you want with him then stick him in the cage and hoist him high. Give him a taste of his own medicine."

Within the hour, the crew had shoved Beckett in the cage and hoisted it almost as high as Vixey had been. Vixey had since retreated back to the cabin and Davy was starting to get worried about her. As he entered the cabin, he could see her sitting at the organ, staring into space. "Ever played before," he said; his voice making her jump. "Aye, a long time ago. It was one of the things I was forced to learn." Davy said nothing as he came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Vixey sighed and leaned back against him as he leaned down to wrap his arms around her. "Are ye ok?" She chuckled at that remark. "I haven't been ok in a long time but being here with you makes me feel like I'm close." "Good to know an old salt like me can still offer some comfort." "Why is it that when we're alone, I just want to let you take me in your arms and never let go but when we're on deck I feel so lost because I can't touch you like this?" "Ye can touch me on deck, but not near as tender as this. I don't want me men thinking I've gone soft." Vixey said nothing at this and just snuggled closer as he took his place beside her on the bench and began to play.

A few hours later found her fast asleep, leaning against him. It was good that she was finally getting some sleep in. She hadn't slept nor ate much since she was rescued and he was a bit worried. As carefully as he could, he picked her up and carried her to bed. As he laid her down, she caught his lapels and tried to bring him with her. "I thought you were asleep," Davy said quietly. "I was. Stay with me, if you don't mind." Davy smiled as he settled in beside her. "I never mind this, being here with you." He knew it sounded sappy, but it was the truth. It was strange having his heart back. He could feel it beating but it was as if he could feel her half beating in time with his. He traced the scar on her chest that was almost a match to the one on his and was surprised when she caught his hand in mid trace. "You getting frisky with me Jones?" "Aye, you have a problem with it?" "Only if you don't start what you finish," she said raising her eyebrows. "Marry me." Vixey almost choked on her own tongue. She hadn't expected those words to come from him. "What?" "Ye heard me. I realized while you were gone that I couldn't live without ye. And ye got to admit, Vixey Jones has a nice ring to it. Would it be so bad to be tied to me the rest of our lives?" Vixey just smiled, "Tied to ye? I think it's more then that. What about children? Did you ever want them?" "Aye, you know Silver and I had a similar conversation a while back. I told him the same thing." "I hope you didn't ask him to marry you too." Davy roared with laughter at this. "Of course I'll marry you. There was something I wanted to ask you too." "Oh really?" "I wanted to ask you if you would attend Gathering with me." He looked confused. "What is the Gathering?" "My species has a meeting every hundred years to keep track of life, death, marriage things like that and we have a celebration afterward. I though since your time to come on land is coming up soon and you don't have to go to Isla Crucia anymore, then you could attend." Davy thought about this for a moment. "How soon till Gathering?" "How long till you can go ashore?" "Two months, but I don't think it quite works that way Love," Davy chuckled. "It does when you're the elder." "Elder?" Vixey chuckled at his bewildered tone. "The elder is the oldest and more powerful," Vixey explained, "namely me." "You're the oldest? How old exactly are you?" "Well, I was with Flint about 300 years ago and that was 200 years after I was born so you do the math." Davy's head swam. She was 500 years old. "So how old are you, if we're playing the age game?" "I'm not being that old yet, Love. I'm only 400." "Hmm, I usually go for the older men but look where that left me. I guess I had to rob the cradle to be happy." Davy smiled as Vixey idly played with his beard before lightly caressing his cheek. "I'd be lost without you." "And I'd be nothing without you, now get some rest. There is much to be done before we go ashore." "I doubt I'll sleep for two months, although I think I could." Davy chuckled as she snuggled into his chest and fell asleep. But Davy didn't drift off right away. His mind kept thinking about her becoming his wife.

The next morning, Davy was awakened to Maccus yelling at them through the door. "Captain, I think you and Vixey need to see this." Davy poked Vixey in the ribs before rising to dress. "What it the blue hell do you want this early in the morning," Vixey muttered before turning over to see who had poked her. "Oh, sorry, my brother used to wake me up like that and I was dreaming about him." "They need us on deck," Davy chuckled, "and don't ever speak to me that way again." Vixey gave him an amused look before rising to dress, herself. "I don't plan on speaking using that tone at you unless you deserve it, but I wont use it in front of the crew." Satisfied with that answer, he headed out on deck with Vixey trailing behind. "What is it Mr. Maccus?" "We hauled a body out of the water, I think Vixey might be interested." Vixey headed over to where Maccus was pointing. Clanker and Hadras were crouched around it in interest. As Vixey pushed them aside, she could see the body had large black wings and a long red tail, much like hers. The body was red and black spotted and as she turned it over, she recognized him. "Talon, oh Hells Bells." "Ye knew him?" "Aye, he and I grew up together." Talon's long black hair was tangled with seaweed and various sea creatures and as she leaned down to untangle a particularly long strand from around his horns, his eyes opened and he spit a mouthful of water directly in her face. "Gotcha!" "Oh, I hate you! Will you ever grow up," Vixey growled. "Nope, not any time soon I hope anyway." "What be the meaning of this," Davy spat angrily as he jerked Talon up by his shirt. "I cant believe I fell for it," Vixey groaned as she hid her eyed in her hand. "Every hundred years right before the gathering Talon always pull some sort or prank on me." "And you always fall for it," Talon said smugly. "Oh that's it, you are so grounded." "Aw come on Vix, it was just a harmless prank. I'm not dead and I'm not even hurt." "Yet," Vixey warned, "I have been the butt of your practical jokes since we were kids and the fact that I'm elder doesn't bother you in the least. You're grounded. No flying unless it's a life or death situation until we get to Gathering or I say differently. Oh and just so you know, I wouldn't pull any tricks while you're on board." "Come on Elder, be reasonable," Talon pleaded. A bolt of lightning crashed down at Vixey's feet and a large staff appeared. Vixey banged the end once on the deck. "The elder has spoken." "Aw man," Talon whined as he followed Clanker to another part of the ship. Davy stared at Vixey for a moment. Something had changed when the staff had appeared. Her skin and hair were darker and he noticed she now had streaks of white mixed in her long hair. He then took the time to examine the staff. A large silver dragon head sat atop a staff of some sort of black material. In the dragon's gaping maw sat a large crystal. "That be some fancy trinket ye got there," Davy said as he ran a finger over the dragon's head. "It's the staff of the elder. It's how I signal the others for the gathering." Davy watched as she raised the staff high in the air and mutter some words he didn't quite understand. A brilliant white light shot out of the crystal and went strait up in the air before disappearing. "That's it?" Vixey chuckled, " that's it. I know it doesn't look like much but to the eyes of everyone like me it's a signal. It shows where and when the gathering is." "And where be the gathering?" "Shipwreck cove. The pirate brethren allow us to use their place unless they are having a meeting. Since Talon has shown up I can only assume he's gotten the go ahead from Teague." "Are you sure I will be welcome at the Gathering," Davy said. It wouldn't have mattered if he wasn't welcome and she knew that but it would be nice to be wanted somewhere. "Well, as my husband of course you would be welcome. All are welcome there but only by invitation. We don't have a hatred for humans but we tend not to get along with them too well. Most of them are scared of us anyway." "But me being who I am an' all. Wont that unnerve the sailors?" Vixey just smiled and put her arm around his waist. "They probably wont care."

Maccus had made his way to ask the Captain something when he caught sight of Vixey with her arm around him. He had stopped but not before they had heard him and turned around. Vixey made no effort to hide her affection towards the Captain, but he looked a but irritated. "What it is Mr. Maccus?" "Begging yer pardon Captain but the crew be wonderin what is to become of Beckett?" "He will taken to the Gathering and judged. Once they find out he killed the child of the Elder there will be no mercy for him. Until then you can do what you want to him," Vixey said; her voice taking an emotionless tone. "Why wait, we could kill him for you," Silver said suddenly appearing at her side. "As much as I would love to take you up on that offer," Vixey sighed, "it's too close to Gathering. However, if he is killed in self defense that is another story." Davy saw a knowing look pass between Vixey and Silver. Truth be told, he would love to kill the little blighter for hurting his future wife. He gave a little smile at that thought. Future wife had a nice ring to it but wife sounded better.

Vixey saw Davy's amused look and couldn't help but laugh at the jump he made when she came up behind him. "What are you thinking about, Love?" "I was thinking about how nice 'my wife' sounds. Are you sure you want to be the Devil's wife?" Vixey chuckled at this remark. "I don't see you as a devil but hey if the world wants to see me as the devil's wife then I can handle it. I've been called worse." "You don't have to worry about anyone calling you anything with me." "I was thinking, with everyone I consider family already here we could go ahead and get married before the Gathering. I mean, a Captain can marry people." "Ye must have been reading me mind. I was about to suggest the same thing. But I'll not have Jack Sparrow marry us." "No, I know that. I was thinking of asking Silver to marry us. Jack will give me away." "Would Silver marry us?" "Of course I would," Silver said as he came up behind them. "Sorry to eavesdrop but I was coming to ask you about Gathering. I want to go." "Of course, I was gonna ask you after I asked you if you would marry us." "Marry you? That's wonderful," Silver said as he grabbed Vixey in a hug before clapping Davy on his back. "And I know you'll take care of her so there's no need to worry about her being in danger." Davy bore the camaraderie with as much patience as possible. He had come to like Silver and considered him as his first real friend other then Vixey. "Of course I'll marry you." "Good, I'll leave you boys to talking while I go share the new with Jayde and the others. Oh geeze, I know she'll just go crazy."


	15. The Wedding

Author's note: I noticed that I named Silver's boat the same thing that i named Vixey's paarent;s boat so if you notice a change of name thats why. Stay tuned for a note at the end of the post.

The two men watched her jump from the Dutchman to the Pearl before turning back to their conversation. A few minutes later a loud "YOU'RE WHAT?" was heard followed by a squeal of joy. "She must have told Jayde," Silver chuckled.

Back on the Pearl, Jayde was hugging Vixey ferociously. "I can't believe it, we're both getting married. Maybe we should have a double wedding." "We tried that remember, we couldn't agree on anything," Vixey pointed out. "Oh yeah. Well I'm in no rush to get married." "That's because you've already had your man. I have a feeling Davy is too much a of a gentleman to try anything until we are married. And as much if as I would love a Gathering wedding, if I have to wait that long I'll go crazy," Vixey laughed. "I did want to ask Jack something though. Any idea where he is?" "Where do ye think he is?" "Wherever the baby is," Vixey sighs.

They found Jack at the helm trying to teach Lucius how to steer. "Now if ye turn it this way son, we go left. And if ye turn it this way we go right." Lucius made a cooing sound at this. "Aye, it don't make sense but that's a ship for ye. And speaking of making no sense, here comes yer Mum and Aunt Vixey." "I heard that," the two women said at the same time. "And what do we owe the pleasure of yer visit Mate?" "Davy asked me to marry him and I wanted you to give me away." "Old squid face and you, married? Of course I'll give ye away. But who will marry you?" "Silver. As captain of a ship that technically no longer exists he can still marry us. Besides, Davy wouldn't have agreed to have you marry us." "I see your point. When will said wedding take place?" "We haven't even gotten that far just that we want to do it before the Gathering." "Aye, Gathering weddings tend to be a bit lengthy. Alright then, whenever ye want to tie the knot let me know." "Thanks Mate, see ya later." Jack and Jayde watched with amusement as Vixey jumped gleefully over the side of the Pearl, flipped once in the air and soared over to the Dutchman. "I've never seen Vixey so happy," Jayde said as Jack put his arm around her waist. "I was just thinking that same Thing Luv."

Davy watched the exchange take place and couldn't help but grin at Vixey's exit from the Pearl. She gave him a contented look before heading below, probably to the galley. Maccus and Clanker had watched the whole exchange with interest. "What do ye think be going on with them," Clanker wondered. "I don't know, but I caught them all wrapped up in each other a while ago. Methinks they're in love." "The Captain, in love? Didn't think it was possible." Maccus agreed with Clanker, he didn't think the Captain would ever be in love again after Calliope. "I suppose when you have a crew like us and an octopus for a beard anything's possible."

Vixey made her way down the galley's steps, humming a song she'd heard a long time ago. It didn't matter that she couldn't remember the words. "What ye so happy about Chile," Jacque said as she sat down on one of the tables. "Oh nothing, just that a certain Captain just asked me to be his wife." "What? Well it be about time. You two have been dancin' aroun' each other for so long, I was startin to wonder when one of ye would make a move. I'm so happy for ye Lass," Jacque said as he gathered her up in a hug. "When be de weddin?" "I don't know, we haven't gotten to that yet. He just asked me less then an hour ago. But it will be before the Gathering." As she briefly explained to him what Gathering was, Davy had silently crept to the doorway. He, most of all wanted to talk to her about the details. "So ye want to get married before the Gathering. Any reason why?" Vixey chewed her lip, a sign Jacque knew that there was something on her mind but she didn't want to say anything because Davy could hear everything. "So that be a yes then?" "You can take it however you want it. I just want to get married before Gathering because if I waited til Gathering, they would take all day." She gave him a look that told him to drop it for now. "Aye, I understand." Vixey suddenly stiffened as she felt a vision overtake her. This particular vision showed her getting married at Gathering, but it wasn't Davy who stood by her side. It was someone she didn't recognize. Then all of a sudden, it was gone. "That's it, we're getting married soon as possible. I need to go find Davy." "Ye had a vision didn't ye," Jacque said knowingly. "Yes, and if we don't get married before the Gathering we wont get married." Davy was confused. Did that mean if they didn't get married before the Gathering that she wouldn't want to get married? Silently he headed back topside, worry etched in his face.

Later that night Vixey came in with supper. Davy was sitting at his organ, fingering the music box when she walked in. "I hope you're hungry, Jacque really outdid himself. He's really happy about us," Vixey said as she set the tray down. Davy said nothing as he laid the music box back on the organ and came up behind her. "I heard what ye were talking about with Jacque. What did ye mean if we don't get married before the Gathering we wont get married at all? Does that mean you wont want to get married?" Vixey turned around with a surprised look on her face before smiling slightly and wrapping her arms around him. "You silly, wonderful man. That's what you get for eavesdropping. There is a law in the Gathering that dates back long before I was born. It states that the Elder must have a life mate in order to stay an Elder. To ensure that the Elder doesn't have this problem, a marriage is arranged at Gathering. It doesn't matter if the Elder is engaged or not. So if we went to Gathering still not married, I would either have to give up the title of Elder or get married to someone the council chooses. The next in line for Elder is a male named Blaze and most of the council as well as the population would prefer if he never became Elder. But I would have given the title of Elder up for you." "Nay Love, I would not ask that of you. We shall be wed by the end of the week, that I promise you." Vixey sighed in contentment as Davy drew her closer to him. "I should warn you that Blaze has been attempting to court me for a long time." "Attempting? Am I to assume that he has been unsuccessful at drawing your attention?" "In a word, yes. He would constantly ask me to dance or if he could get me something to eat or drink and he even went so far as to asking me if we could go find someplace more private. It ended with me kicking him in a very sensitive place and punching him in the eye. If anyone else had done that at Gathering, there would have been consequences. There is no fighting allowed. But being Elder has its perks." "Aye, I can see that. So this Blaze person wants you and what are the chances that if we don't marry before Gathering that he will be picked to marry you?" "Pretty high. It is usually determined by age and he is the next to oldest there. Of course, you're still older then him." Davy chuckled at that before sitting at the table across from her.

While they ate, Vixey couldn't help but smile as she realized that she be sitting across the table from this man for the rest of her life. Davy caught the smile and caught a brief flash of what she was thinking. "I cant believe how lucky I am. I'm gonna get to wake up every morning next yeh and lay down beside yeh every night for the rest of our lives. Are ye sure ye don't want to back out now? I'm not exactly a morning person." "I'm sure, besides, it depends on how you get woken up," she said with a devilish grin. He had to admit she was right.

It was decided that they would get married in the next few days. To ensure that no one had to miss the wedding, Beckett would also be present so no one would be stuck guarding him. Over the next few days, both the Pearl and the Dutchman buzzed with arrangements being made. Vixey had gone into the hold and found a bolt of fabric that had survived the fire. She realized it was the fabric that Jim had given her on her last birthday. With tears in her eyes, she began gathering the supplies she would need to make the only dress she would ever wear willingly.

Davy had barely seen Vixey in the last two days. She spent most of her time on, well he didn't know what but she had told him he would have to wait til the wedding because it was bad luck. Being cursed was bad luck enough, but he didn't want to do anything to jinx it So, he let well enough alone and only saw her when she came to bed. It was one of those times that he realized how close it was to their wedding night. It had been a long time, longer then he'd like to think about, since he'd last been with a woman. He hoped he would remember how a woman's body worked. He had made the mistake of asking her how long it had been since she was last with a man. She had given him a hungry look and answered "a long time Sailor." He was thankful when she let it go at that. The look she had given him reminded him of a lioness stalking its prey.

Finally, the long awaited day had arrived. She had stayed on the Pearl the night before which was probably why she didn't get any sleep. She was so used to Davy's snores that not hearing it had bothered her. She could barely stop shaking as Jayde and Annamaria helped him with her dress and hair. "Calm down girl, or I'm gonna stick ya with your comb," Jayde complained.

Meanwhile back on the Dutchman, Davy was faring no better. Visions of Calliope kept running through his mind. He had asked Bootstrap to be his best man and said best man was trying to convince Davy that things would be fine. "She's not Calliope, by any means. You'll do fine Captain." "Aye, I suppose you're right, it's just that I don't know if I'll be a good husband to her." "Trust me, she'll set ye strait if ye screw up." Davy chuckled at this. "I believe ye, Mr. Turner, I believe ye."

At long last, it was time. One of Jack's crew had produced a fiddle and began the Wedding March. Davy watched with anticipation as Jack led Vixey up to the helm where he, Silver and Bootstrap were waiting. The sight that greeted him took his breath away. The dress itself was sea green. Vixey had woven various shells in the trim and she wore a sharks tooth on a leather string around her neck. She had put a comb made of coral and pearls that he recognized as the one she said Silver had given her when Jim was born. Jayde had stood by her side as Maid of Honor and Jack couldn't help but wish it were them getting married. Jayde caught the look and nodded as Silver began. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite these two in matrimony. If anyone has any reason why these two should not be wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." "Any of you bilge rats say one word its 50 lashes and a week in the brig," Davy said as he glared at the crowd. "You beat me to it Love," Vixey snickered. "If I may continue," Silver said, pretending to be annoyed. "Marriage is a sacred vow between two people whose hearts are true to each other. Marriage is about compromise but should never be compromised. Do you Davy Jones take Vixey to be your pirate bride, to pillage and plunder in sickness and health with all of your heart til the end of time?" "I do." Vixey smiled as Silver turned to her. "Vixey, do you promise to do all that stuff I just said until eternity?" "No." A gasp was heard throughout the crew until Vixey held up her hand. "I promise to do all that stuff forever and eternity." A collective sigh was heard throughout the ship as Vixey gave Davy a sheepish look. "Then by the power vested in me as Captain of the Sea Dragon I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. Ye may kiss the bride." Time seemed to stand still as he drew her closer to him to claim her. A great cheer echoed throughout the ship as Davy pulled her tighter to him. "Should we break em up," Jack asked a few minutes later when they still hadn't come up for air. "Nah, it's not like they're gonna suffocate," Silver said.

Some time later that night, the newlyweds made their way into their cabin. Davy hadn't take his hands off his new bride all night and Vixey had no complaints. Well, maybe one. "This is the last dress I will ever wear, that I can guarantee." "But ye look so fetching in it Mrs. Jones. I cant believe ye made yer own wedding dress." "Well, last dress I ever wear has to be special." "Ye know what's even more special?" Vixey smiled, almost knowing what was coming. "What?" "Getting ye out of it." "Now that, my dear Husband is a trick in itself." She briefly fingered her wedding band, getting used to its presence and smiled when she saw the matching one on his hand. "Do ye think they're still throwing wedding cake at each other?" Davy chuckled at the memory of Jayde 'accidentally' shoving cake in Jack's face which resulted in an all out food fight. The new couple had chose that opportunity to slip away. "Knowing Jayde, probably." Davy watched as Vixey reached behind her and attempted to unbutton the small pearl buttons at the back of her dress. After the third or fourth unsuccessful try, Davy gently batted Vixey's hands away. "Let me. After all, it is my duty as your husband." "To what, keep me naked," Vixey chuckled. But her chuckles died out as she felt him free her buttons one by one until her back was exposed. "Ye have beautiful skin Love, yer scales aren't rough like I'd expect them to be." Vixey closed her eyes and reveled in the sensations his hands made as he caressed each scar on her back. "I am sorry for the ones I caused ye, and the ones I didn't and I promise ye Love that I'll always protect ye." Vixey turned to face him, a contented smile on her face. "I love that you just said that but if you don't loose some of those clothes, you're gonna need someone to protect you." Davy chuckled at her eagerness as he shed his coat and hat. "Better?" Vixey made a face, "a little but I'm almost naked here. At least loose the shirt." "I'll do ye one better," he said as he took off his shirt and boot. Vixey took this chance to study him. His broad chest and torso held nothing but muscle, only marred by the wicked looking scar where his heart now rested. When he had laid his shirt across a chair he turned back to her only to find that she had stepped out of her dress.

Without a word, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. As she savored the skin on skin contact, she felt a few tentacles from his beard wind their way into her hair and remove the comb. "I think we should be moving this is somewhere more comfortable." Before she could say anything he had picked her up and carried her to his bed. Both were eager to express their love for one another but took their time. When they finally became one, both realized that the missing piece in their lives had been found.

Vixey had lost count of how many times they had joined, but it continued well on into the night. When morning finally came, both were exhausted and protested when the sun's rays came streaming into the windows. Vixey sighed and threw an arm over her eyes as Davy buried his face in her hair. She risked opening one eye to see that he was also having a hard time going back to sleep. "I know you can control the sea but can you control the sun?" "No, although I wish I could." "There is another alternative Davy." "Oh really, pray tell me dear Wife what it be?" "Down." "Aye." "If I can walk I'll stick my head out the door and relay that to Maccus. Sorry Captain, force of habit. It be you ship, you give the orders." Davy chuckled and rumpled her hair. "I was just about to ask you to do that." As Vixey walked across the room, Davy noticed a few bruises on various parts of her body, bruises that looked like sucker marks. He watched as she cracked the door and called for Maccus. "The Captain says go down." "Aye, Mrs. Jones and good morning to the both of ye." "Sorry, its just a little too early and that damnable sun is keeping both of us awake." Maccus chuckled before relaying the orders to the crew.

As Vixey closed the door, she saw Davy staring at her with a wistful look on his face. "What it is Love?" "Did I hurt ye last night?" Davy's question surprised her. "What makes you say that?" "All the bruises me tentacles left." She briefly examined herself then noticed something that made her grin. "Well for your information, I'm not the only one with battle scars from last night." She gazed downward and he looked to see a prefect set of teeth marks on his left peck. "Me back stings too. I think some wildcat be sleeping next to me." Vixey examined his back to see a series of long scratches all over his back. "Well, I guess we've marked each other." Before he could say anything else, they felt the boat tip as it submerged. Vixey watched as water seeped in from under the door and before long the cabin was completely flooded. "Much better," Vixey said as the sunlight disappeared. "Now, where were we," Davy said as he pulled her to the bed and rolled her underneath him.

Author's note: ok first place, i want feedback. Second place, i know some people dont like the whole adult content thing so i didnt put it in here. However, i am in hte process of writing the honymoon scene that will be posted somewhere else in case there are some of you who do want to read it. when i get it compleated i will post a link. Gathering to come soon, i promise but with the birth of my nephew very very close i cant guarantee when i'll get to it.


	16. Gathering

Author's note: my nephew bradley samuel was born june 21at 8:25 am. unless i am babysitting overnight(like tonight) i will have updates more frequently.

It was some hours later when they both emerged from the cabin, or as Vixey called it, their Love Nest. Davy had chuckled over that one but he had to agree that it fit. The Dutchman had surfaced by then and the deck looked like a fish market had exploded. Vixey had to grab a hold of something or someone several times as she made her way to the helm. Clanker was glad to be relieved but he gave her a few funny looks before he left.

Throughout the rest of the day, she received more funny looks. At supper, she went to the galley to help Jacque. "There ye be Chile, I was worried ye wouldn't be able to walk this morning." "Would there be any connection between that crack and the funny looks I've been getting all day?" Jacque chuckled for a few minutes before containing his amusement. "Chile, I hate to tell ye but the whole crew could hear ye." Vixey could feel her face getting red. "Were we that loud?" "Aye, I could sleep through any storm and ye kept me up all night." Vixey felt her face turning three more shades of red. "Well I'll tell Davy to be more quiet next time." "It wasn't de Captain that was so loud."

When she brought supper to the cabin, Davy was waiting on her. "I think we have a problem." "Tell me about it. I've been getting funny looks all day, what about you?" "What are ye talking about?" "What are you talking about," Vixey was starting to get irritated. "I was talking about me time to go ashore. I miscalculated." "Well that's no problem. You're able to go on boats right?" "Aye." "Well, shipwreck island is just a bunch of ships. There's no land what so ever." "True, ok so what are you talking about?" "The whole crew heard us last night." "Heard us what," Davy said looking confused. "Heard us playing tidily winks," Vixey said sarcastically, "they heard us going at it like bunnies." At first, Davy said nothing, but then he burst out into a hearty chuckle, tears of mirth springing to his blue eyes. "Love, there gonna have to get used to it eventually. I plan on continuing those activities until we aren't able to do them any more." "In other words, for eternity?" "Aye."

After supper, he made good on his promise to continue said activities but she wasn't sure she would be able to keep up with him. "You're insatiable, you know," Vixey said as they basked in the afterglow. "Aye, but I've been alone along time," Davy sighed. "Then I promise you, my husband, you will never be alone again." Davy was about to reply when an angry shout came from on deck, followed by another one. Davy rolled his eyes., "With that lot around, who has time to be alone?" Vixey had to chuckled at that as she pulled on one of his shirts. It came to her knees and Davy couldn't help but laugh. But he stopped as she headed towards the door. "Where're ye going?" "I can sit here and listen to that." As she stuck her head out of the door, she caught sight of Clanker and Penrod in a tussle. "If you two don't shut the hell up and get back to work, I'll give ya a kiss of the Cat you wont soon forget. You think the Bosun can strip flesh, wait until I get a hold of ye. And another thing, the next person that shoots me a funny look gets it decked off of them. You don't like the noise, wear ear plugs." With that she slammed the door and flopped back into bed, Davy watching her open-mouthed the whole time. "What in the seven levels of Hell was that?" "That was me letting my frustrations loose." "I have to admit, it wasn't very lady-like but it was alluring." "I'm gonna allure you mister," Vixey said as she tackled him and pinned him to the bed. She knew if he wanted to, he could throw her off but the look in his eyes told her to continue her train of thought.

A week flew by without Vixey even noticing it. Until Davy called her above deck early one morning. As she walked on deck, rubbing her sleep filled eyes, she could hear a lot of squawking and cursing. As she got closer she could see Maccus off to the side cradling his bleeding hand and Clanker trying desperately to hold on to something. As she reached the crowd, she could see Clanker holding a large Scarlet Macaw. "Oh Hell's Bells, let the poor thing go," Vixey said as she swatted Clanker's hand. The bird took the opportunity to clamp down on Clanker's finger which in turn made him release it. To everyone's surprise, it glided to Vixey and perched on her shoulder. "Hello Nibblet. What earth shattering news do ye bring me this time?" Davy handed her a rolled up piece of paper with her name on it. "So you know this annoying pest?" "Yes, his name is Davy Jones and he's the Captain of the Flying Dutchman as well as my heart." "I meant the bird, smart ass." "Oh, you mean Nibblet. He's the one that usually brings me messages from the council, mostly from those who cant make it to Gathering. Usually, if someone cant make it they send a message. Otherwise if no one has heard from them we assume they are no longer in this world. I'm surprised the Elemental hasn't shown up." "Ye want her to show up?" Hell no," Vixey said as she unrolled the paper. "Ok, so far we have three not coming. That's not good." "Only three and you're upset?" "They're aren't many of my kind left." "Speaking of that, what are your kind called?" "Drakel. It's an old word that means heart of a dragon. Most of us love a good fight, while some of us would be content to talk things out. You know which one I prefer." "Aye Love, I knew there was a warrior in ye. But why have I never heard of ye before?" "Most of us keep to ourselves and use our human disguise most of the time. It's only when we're all together that we use our true form." Davy could hold his curiosity no longer. "Does everyone look like you?" "Well the form is usually the same but there are variations of colors, horns, wings you name it. Not all of us have wings, though most of us do. That is the one part of our bodies that won't grow back if it is lost."

By the end of the next week, Davy had learned everything he could about her species. He had learned that some could breathe fire all the time and some could breath fire only when pregnant or when they have a small child. Vixey had told him that when she was pregnant with Jim should could breathe fire when threatened. He had learned that despite being part dragon, they did not lay eggs. He had learned all of their customs and laws which was essential if he was to appear before the council as her husband.

Vixey was proud of his eagerness to learn about her species. She had received no more messages so could only assume everyone else was coming. As they reached shipwreck cove, she felt a sense of anxiety and excitement. Davy felt a sense of foreboding. He hoped that shipwreck island counted as a ship and not land. As he stepped off of the Dutchman he breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened. Vixey had been walking in front of him but stopped when she realized he wasn't right behind her. "What's wrong?" "I thought maybe, well never mind. I just thought that this would count as land." Vixey chuckled at that before threading her arm through his. "I would hope my husband would escort me through the door." "AS my lady wishes," Davy said as he leaned down for a kiss. "Ah welcome Elder," came an unfamiliar voice. Davy glared at the newcomer until Vixey poked him in the ribs. He was shorter then Vixey and his skim was yellow with green stripes. On his back were large green wings the same color as his stripes. He had no horns but his tail looked like a spiky club. "Hello Faylon, I see you've been volunteered into the position of greeter." "Yes well, my brother managed to get himself out of it this year. Oh well, that's what happens when you sleep with a council member." "Let me guess, Layla?" "Of course." "How a slut like that can get elected to council is beyond me," Vixey sighed. "In any case, would you call a few guards to receive a prisoner." "Oh my, of course. What was his crime to bring him to Gathering?" "He killed Jim."

Faylon looked at her as if she were speaking a foreign language. "He killed Jim? Oh dear, I'm so sorry. How is Captain Silver taking it?" "Why don't ye ask him yourself, he's right behind us," Davy said irritated that he was being ignored. "Oh I am so sorry. Please forgive my manners. I never thought we would have the notorious Davy Jones here." "He's my husband, or you wouldn't have him here." "Oh my goodness, husband? Well congratulations. I guess Blaze is out of luck then." Vixey stiffened at the mention of Blaze's name. "Is he here yet?" "No, I think you are the first to arrive." Out of nowhere two guards appeared. "What are your commands Elder?" "Mr. Maccus, " Davy said, "accompany the guards back to the Dutchman and hand Becket over to them." "Aye Captain." The guards looked to Vixey for instructions. "You heard him, follow Maccus back to the ship and receive the prisoner." "A thousand apologies Elder." "Forgiven. Now go. And if the prisoner tries anything, you have my permission to do anything to subdue him. Just make sure he lives long enough to be judged." "As you command Elder." "Now, Faylon said turning back to Vixey, "we must get you ready." Vixey rolled her eyes. "No ruffles this time. I will be comfortable this time around. The last Gathering you had everything so tight I thought my eyes were gonna pop out of my head." "Well then freshen up at least. And perhaps the robe?" "Ok, I like the robe so just to make you happy I will wear it." "Thank you Elder. You know, it has changed again." "Into what, and who ordered it changed?" "I'm afraid it had to be changed. After last Gathering, we found it ripped to shreds." "Figures," Vixey sighed, "ok, lets go see it."

Davy followed Vixey and Faylon down a long hallway to a large wooden door. Vixey recognized it as Teague's room. "Any particular reason we're going to this room?" "You'll see, it's a surprise." "I hate surprises." Faylon knocked before entering and Vixey saw why.

In the corner of the room in a large chair sat Teague Sparrow. "Vixey, Lass it's good to see you," Teague said as he stood up to hug her. "It's been a long time you old Sea Dog. You know you're a grandfather now?" "Ye don't say? Who's the lucky wench that managed that one?" "One guess." "Ah, so Jayde finally got what she wanted. Where be the happy couple?" In the harbor on the Pearl. I don't know if they're coming or not. They didn't ask but Jack knows he's always welcome." "And what be this now," Teague said catching sight of Davy. "This is my husband." "So ye married the devil of the sea. Well if ye love him and he loves you and he treats you like you should be treated them I'm happy for ye." "Thank you, although I don't know if devil be the right name for him. I think I vex him more then anything." Davy just chuckled with that remark. "I think we vex each other." Teague laughed before heading towards the door. "I think I will take my leave of ye so you can get freshened up. We can talk later." Vixey nodded as he left. "I swear he doesn't change a bit. Do you two have some sort of accord that he cant age?" "Nay Lass, not me." It was then that Vixey caught sight of the robe. It seemed to be made up of long white feathers. As she reached out to touch it, Faylon came in. "Oh I see you found it. What do you think?" "It beautiful but feathers? I already have wings." Faylon tsked as he helped her into the robe. "See, you're beautiful." Vixey stared at herself in the mirror. The robe came down to her calves and seemed to catch the light. "Ye look beautiful Love," Davy said as he came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You look like a blooming parakeet," Came a rough voice from the door. Davy looked to see a male Drakel with yellow skin and long black hair. "Hello Blaze," Vixey said her voice turning cold. "Well, I see you managed to avoid our little wedding. Pity, I would have enjoyed having you scream my name during the honeymoon." "You know Blaze, there is no fighting allowed at Gathering, too bad it doesn't apply to the Elder." "You wouldn't dare?" "I could break every bone in your body and use your spine as a back scratcher and no one could do anything about it. You on the other hand so much as look at me or my husband funny and I'll have you banned for eternity. Now you have two options. Option A, you go wait for gathering to start or Option B, I call the guards. Your choice." "Fine, but this isn't over," Blaze spat as he turned to go. "Oh and Blaze, if you ever speak to me like that again you'd better hope that someone else gets to you before I do." "And ye better hope she gets ye before I do," Davy continued. As Blaze slammed the door, Vixey sank into a nearby chair. "I keep waiting for him to screw up so I can ban him." "What's the big deal about being banned," Davy asked. "It depends on how long you are banned but it basically means that the person who is banned is dead to us for however long he is banned. His name would be erased from the records until whenever the Elder says. You are treated like an outcast among your own kind. For us, that is a sentence worse then death. We're already outcast among the world. At least here we have someone to have a kinship with. Can you stick your head out of the door and ask one of the guards to come in. I hate to yell." "Aye Love," Davy said as he did what she asked. The male that came in had jet black skin and long white hair. "Yes Elder, what is it you command?" Vixey stared at him for a minute. She knew him from somewhere but she couldn't place him. Then it hit her. "Oberon? Is that you?" "Hello Vixey, I was wondering how long it would take you to recognize me." "How are you? Geeze it's been forever since I last saw you. You weren't at last gathering what happened?" "Talia went into labor at the last minute." "You and Talia? Jayde owes me a case of rum. I told her you two would end up together and she argued with me for three strait hours on how you would end up with Lisha," Vixey chuckled. "Lisha? No thanks. I cant stand her." Vixey just shook her head. "I cant believe you're a father. What did she have?" "Twin girls, and we just had a son. She's here somewhere. I love talking with you Vix, but I really need to get back to my post. What was it you wanted oh wise and noble Elder?" "Tell the guards that I want Blaze no where near me, my husband, Silver, or anyone else in close company with me. He is crossing a dangerous line, a line that will find his death should he continue." "Understood, and between you and me he has is coming." Oberon left to carry out his orders as Vixey unbraided her hair and began to brush the tangles out. Davy watched in fascination. Trust be told, he had always loved the look and feel of women's hair.

Vixey looked in the mirror at Davy behind her. He had a funny look on his face as he watched her brush her hair. "What's wrong, do I have starfish or something in my hair?" Davy knew he had been caught. "Just watching you, Love." Vixey smiled at his comment, but Davy noticed the smile didn't reach her eyes. She was still hurting from the loss of her son and he hadn't seen her grieve for him. "Love, is there anything you want to talk about, anything you feel or need?" Vixey stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean? I' m married to wonderful man, what more do I need?" Davy came closer and wrapped his arms around her, setting his chin on the top of her head. "Ye need to grieve, Love."

Grieve, the one thing she couldn't bring herself to do. She did want to grieve but doing so would mean Jim was really gone. She didn't want to let go of him, but she knew she would have to sooner or later if she wanted to get on with her life. "When Beckett is finally dead, I promise you I can grieve." "What if the council doesn't sentence him to death?" "The council may sentence him to anything they wish but as Elder is it my final call. You know me well enough to know what I'll do." Davy nodded, he knew she would have Beckett executed. "There's something else I need to do before I can move on." "What would that be Love?" "Forgive Barbossa. I know he wronged me," Vixey sighed, "but people do crazy things for the ones they love." "Aye, they do, I be an example of that Bur forgive him? Are ye sure?" "There are few men I find it very hard to stay mad at. One of them is in this room. Jack and Silver I can never stay mad at for more then a few hours and Jim, well I could never stay mad at him for a few minutes. But Hector Barbossa also happens to fall in that category. We used to have all kinds of crazy fights, none as worse as this but they were pretty stupid. In any case he was always forgiven. I knew I would forgive him for his infidelity in time." "Ye be a better person then me. I still haven't forgiven Calypso and I don't think I ever will." "I know that, but can ye let her go?" Davy smiled and tilted her face so she could look into his eyes. "I already have Love. When I realized I was falling in love with you, I made up my mind to let her go." Vixey smiled and pulled him close for a gentle kiss. She was surprised when he deepened the kiss and gentle turned into needy and insistent. He normally saved this kind of affection for their bedroom. It gave her a bit of a thrill to know that anyone could walk in at any time. Before she knew it, the robe had dropped from her shoulders and lay in a heap on the floor. Vixey barely registered the hand under her shirt until she heard the creak of the door opening. "Well now, this be a sight ye don't see every day." They looked up to see Barbossa lounging in the doorway, Jack the monkey chittering on his shoulder. Vixey felt the hand under her shirt regretfully withdraw as Davy stood up and straitened his clothes. "I suppose I should let ye talk. I need to go give me crew orders. Is there anyone ye want attending Gathering?" "Anyone can attend if the Elder approves it and as long as Bill, Jacque and Maccus are here I don't care who else. Actually ye can invite the whole crew as long as they know there is no fighting." "Aye. I shall return."

Barbossa watched as Davy left and Vixey retrieved her robe from the floor. "I was surprised when ye summoned me. Truth be told I didn't think ye would ever speak to me again." "It is true Hector, I am angry with you. You could have just told me. There are few men I can stay mad at for long and you, for whatever reason, happen to be one of them. There is some part of me that will always have feelings for you because of our past, and what we lost." Barbossa could see the sadness in her eyes, he knew of what she spoke. He too, was still hurting. "Aye, there will be a part of me that will always love ye for the same reasons. But, I still love Tia Dalma and I always will." Vixey saw red, but forced it away. She didn't summon him for that. "Aye, I can respect that. But I don't want to keep ye, I just wanted to tell ye that I forgive ye. Ye always treated Jim well and ye supported me when my world fell apart." "Yer world wasn't the only one that fell apart that day. My heart was broken too."

Davy had cracked the door and was just about to open it when he heard the last bit of their conversation. He was surprised to Vixey crying and even more surprised to see Barbossa gather her in his arms. He wondered what they were talking about. It was then that Jack the monkey screeched and scampered across the floor to open the door. Both Vixey and Barbossa looked up to see a bewildered Davy staring back at them. "I should go and see what's become of me crew. I'm glad we could have this talk." "Me too, it's brought closure to my life which is what I was aiming for." Vixey watched as Jack perched himself on Barbossa's shoulder before the two of them headed out the door. Davy could sense a change in Vixey, almost like a sense of peace about her. "I know you were at the door and I'm sure you want to know what was going on." "Well, I wasn't gonna pry but I was curious." "Right after I showed Barbossa what I really was, I found out I was pregnant. He was so happy, it made him forget how upset he was at my secret. Soon after, we had Drake. He looked just like his father and he was smart as whip. He was walking by 6 months. He was almost a year when we lost him. We had gone ashore for supplies when the EITC cornered us in an abandoned mill. Hector had Drake between the two of us but somehow we got separated. It wasn't long before they had reinforcements." Davy could see how difficult it was to relive the tragedy. "Ye don't have to continue if ye don't want to, I think I know what happened. The building collapsed on ye, didn't it?" Vixey could only nod, her emotions overpowering her, as Davy took her into his arms. "It was after that Hector started acting differently. At first, he told me it was because of Drake but when he didn't even look at me for months on end I knew something was wrong. When I finally confronted him he said my secret was the reason he was so distant. It wasn't long after that I had the dream about Aztec gold. The rest, you know. I would have told you, I just, well it's still so hard to talk about." "I understand Love,  
Davy said smoothing her unruly locks, "it was the same with Calypso." "Whenever you feel like talking about her, let me know." Anything else that was to be said was forgotten as Faylon strode in the room. "It's almost time Elder, are you sure you don't want something else other then the robe?" "Oh no you don't, I know where you're heading. The last dress I will ever wear again was to my wedding." "Of course Elder. Shall we go?"

As they approached the great hall, Vixey on Davy's arm, many voices could be heard. But all were silent as Vixey entered. Davy's head swam with all of the Drakels that were there. There were hundreds of them, all with different colors and patterns. Some had wings and others didn't. There were even some with only one wing. Davy made a mental note to ask Vixey about it later. Off to the left of Vixey he could see 8 Drakels with matching robes. As Faylon announced them and escorted them to their chairs, Vixey leaned over and whispered that the 8 were the council. "They will judge Becket as well as anyone else here. They are also the Elder's advisors but I don't pay attention most of the time." Davy was surprised to see Talon was one of the eight. Vixey saw where he was looking and chuckled softly. "Don't ask me how he got there, but I think it was a vote." "I take it ye didn't vote for him." "What do you think?" Davy could say no more as Faylon began to call roll. Those that didn't answer usually had someone who knew why they couldn't attend. Those that didn't were presumed dead. As they finished taking attendance, Davy noticed Talon seemed to be taking note of everything that was said. "Now," Vixey said as she stood up, "is there any old business?" Not a word was said so she continued. "Ok then, new business. I have heard you whispering about the presence of this man sitting next to me. There is no plague, disaster or anything else upon us. Davy Jones is my husband." A collective gasp came from the crowd as Vixey held up her hand for silence. "There is more you need to know. Six months ago, my son was murdered." Vixey stopped to let the process the information. Had it really been six months? It felt like an eternity. "The man who killed him is here," Vixey motioned to Becket as the guards brought him into the room. "Are there any suggestions on his fate?"

Several ideas were thrown out, some more gruesome then others. The worst by far had something to do with electric eels placed in a part of Becket's body Vixey didn't even want to think about. It was decided that Vixey think over all the ideas and continue in the morning. For now, the festivities would begin.

Davy eyed the many couples dancing as he sipped his rum. AS Elder, Vixey was expected to dance but it wasn't a requirement. Still, she did look like she was having fun. He had lost track of how many bottles he had consumed but it only relaxed him. He watched Vixey from across the room until he could stand it no longer. He stood up and carefully made his way across the room until he reached her. "May I cut in?" Vixey was pleased that he had decided to join in but she had seen him wobble across the room and could tell he was a bit tipsy. Vixey's partner bowed and headed off as Davy took her in his arms and began the waltz that had just started. "I thought you hated to dance," Vixey said as he whirled her around the room. "I do, but I couldn't stand to see you have all the fun now could I?" They danced for what seemed like hours until both were worn out. Between the two of them they had put away enough rum to knock out the entire royal fleet. It was the drunkest Vixey had ever remembered being. But she still wasn't stumbling drunk. Davy on the other hand could barely stay up without Vixey to lean on to so the spare him any embarrassment, they headed to bed. Halfway to their room, Davy was feeling a bit playful. Without a word, he scooped Vixey up in his arms and threw her over his shoulder. "What are ye doing," She screeched as he hurried down the hall and finally making it into their room. As he pushed the door shut with his hip, he tripped over, well Vixey wasn't sure what it was because she didn't see anything, and sent her flying onto the bed. "You didn't even clear me for landing," Vixey teased as Davy plopped on the bed beside her. "I meant to ask you, why do some of ye have one wing or no wings?" Vixey's face softened as a sad look came across it. "Remember when we first met how I told you that an injury to the wings takes priority over other wounds?" "Aye." "There's a reason for that. I could cut off a foot or any other limb and it would grow back. Wings don't. Most that have only one or no wings have lost them into battle. The others were lost as punishment for something unforgivable like murder or rape. While we can fly with one wing, its not very strong or stable but it will do for an escape. Cutting off wings is worse then death to us." "Makes sense, I suppose. An eye for an all and all that." When Vixey didn't answer back, he looked to see her nodding off to sleep. "Ye ain't falling asleep on me are ye? I was hoping for once more dance." "Hate to disappoint ye Love but the only dance I'm doing tonight is with the bed." "I was hoping more along the lines of in the bed." "My dear husband, I'm afraid you're drunk." "Aye, and I was hoping you were gonna take advantage of me." "Well as the old saying goes, 'hope in one hand and sh-,'"Vixey began before Davy clapped a hand over her mouth. "I get it Love," he said following her as she crawled into bed. It wasn't long before he felt her hand on his backside. "I thought ye wanted to sleep?" "Woman's prerogative is to change her mind," she said as she blew out the light.

Vixey awoke to the tap tapping of rain on the windows and smiled as last nights events ran through her mind. Making love with the Sea Devil was a different experience then what she was used to. He could be rough and demanding but he could also be gentle and giving. It was a side of him she knew no one but her could see. The whispers going around when they first arrived and even now at this very minute were all the same. How could the Elder, their greatest warrior, have fallen in love with Davy Jones? Even after swearing an oath to herself in front of the council that she would never give her heart away, she had fallen in love and married the Sea Devil. Most felt that he had broken through the wall she had put around her heart, and she had healed his broken heart and seen past his tough exterior. Others felt he had her under some sort of spell or contract. They would be half right. He had her under his spell, but it was the spell of one lonely broken heart calling to another. Vixey's musings were broken by the stirrings of the man laying next to her. A pair of strong muscular arms wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her against his cool flesh. Vixey grinned as she realized that his entire body was awake. "How many times do I have to tell you to quit bringing your sword to bed." "I didn't hear any complaints about me sword last night." His smart remark was followed by an oomph as Vixey hit him with her pillow.


	17. Execution and Injury

It was a while before they could compose themselves enough to come down for breakfast. Today was the day Beckett would be judged for his crimes. Vixey couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Beckett would get what was coming to him but even still it wouldn't bring Jim back.

As they entered the great hall, she could feel everyone's eyes on her, mostly Blaze's. Giving him a smug grin, she snuggled closer to Davy as they walked by him. As they sat down and began breakfast, she looked around at all the tables and noticed that Jack and Jayde were absent. "Have you seen Jack or Jayde this morning," She asked Silver who was just joining them. "Aye, I seen them just now. They were heading this way but they were takin their sweet time." "Good, I was getting worried. Its not like Jayde to miss a meal."

Meanwhile, Blaze was furious. He was suppose to marry her. No matter, he would have his revenge on both of them. All he had to do was get her alone.

Vixey could feel Blaze's hatred but could do nothing about it. While being Elder had its privileges, she couldn't just kill Blaze for no reason no matter how much she wanted to. She looked up and found that Blaze had seated himself at the other end of the table and was glaring at her.

Davy had watched the whole exchange with interest. Blaze was planning something, but what? He knew whatever it was had something to do with Vixey. He hoped Blaze wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything with the wife of the Sea Devil but with rage clouding the rational part of his brain, it was possible.

As breakfast was cleared away and Vixey took her place in the Elder's chair, the guards brought Beckett to stand in front of Vixey and the council. Vixey could see he was a little worse for wear but he had been cleaned up. "Cutler Beckett," Faylon began, "you have been charged with the murder of the Elder's son as well as kidnapping and torturing the Elder and using her for your own personal gain. How do you plead?" "Does it matter what I say," Beckett said as he realized his fate. "Not really," Vixey said as she stood and began to circle him. "I am guilty. I killed your son as well as everything else he just said. But you can execute me! You have no right." "I have EVERY right," Vixey said as her eyes flashed from purple to red. "You kidnapped my son with the intent to capture me. Then you torture me and finally you kill my son. You take me away from everything and everyone I love. I suppose I should thank you for bringing Davy and I closer together, but the fact remains you killed the son of the Elder. What say the council?" Talon rose and cleared his throat. "The council has decided that in the custom of our laws he should be executed in any way you see fit Elder." "Very good brother Talon, now the fact remains on how. There are so many ways to kill a man. We could burn you alive, that would pay tribute to out dragon heritage. We could draw and quarter you, but that's a little messy. We could even keelhaul you but that would take too long. Perhaps I should give you to Neko and the Kraken and let them use you as a chew toy. I should really start out with removing what you value most. But I have a more fitting execution." Without warning, Vixey's hand shot out and broke through Beckett's chest. In and instant, she was bathed in his blood. Davy could only watch and listen to the bones crunching as Becket's ribs splintered, the shards stabbing into the already torn flesh. With a squelching sound, Vixey grabbed Beckett's still beating heart and tore it from his chest, holding it high for all to see. Then while he was still breathing, she shoved it in his open mouth. "Eat your heart out Cutler," Vixey sneered as Beckett choked once before drawing his last breath.

Blaze watched in amazement from across the room as the execution was carried out. She had strength, that was definite. He realized to get his plan to work he would have to catch her off guard. He watched as she excused herself to clean up and noticed that she went alone. No one noticed him slip out behind her.

Vixey had just finished washing up and changing her clothes when she heard the door open. Thinking it was Davy coming to check up on her she didn't turn around. "I will have to say as satisfying as that was, it was too short. I think I should have given him to the kraken." "Oh I don't know, I think you did quite well." Recognizing the voice, she whirled around only to feel a exploding pain on the side of her head. Then everything went black.

Back in the great hall, Davy was starting to worry about Vixey. Then he felt the blinding pain and then nothing. Silver looked surprised as Davy stood up so violently his chair toppled over. "What's wrong, Mate?" "Where be Blaze?" His anger grew as his search turned up nothing. "When was the last time anyone remembered seeing him?" "A few minutes before Vixey left," Talon said, "why what's wrong?" Davy told them about the connection he and Vixey had and about what he had experienced. "We'll search this place from top to bottom. No one could have left without one of the guards seeing," Oberon said suddenly appearing.

Meanwhile, Blaze had taken Vixey to the depths of the island. He had spent a long time studying the secret passageways of the island and could navigate them blindfolded. He had found a torture chamber years ago and had began formulating his plan since then. Vixey was chained down on a table with the strongest steel forged with magic. No Drakel could break it. He had debated on weather to remove her clothes while she was out but he decided to wait. It would be sweeter when she realized how helpless she was. His anticipation mounted as she moaned softly and her eyes fluttered open. "Where am I?" She tried to raise her arms only to find them tightly bound. "What's going on here?" Blaze chuckled as he came into her line of sight. "What's going on is after all these years of you rejecting me, I will finally have you. You're finally mine." "I belong to no one." "We shall see about that." Blaze walked around behind her where she couldn't see him. She wondered what he was up to until she felt him caress her wings. "What are you doing?" Blaze grinned as he heard the fear in her voice. "Showing you who's in control," Blaze growled as he twisted her wing.

Vixey screamed as the blinding pain shot through her body. She knew he had broken her wing and prayed he wouldn't break the other one. It would heal but it was the worst pain she had ever experienced and that was including childbirth. As she fought to regain her breath, Blaze came back into view. "I take it you will be cooperative, not like you have much of a choice." Vixey's sharp hearing picked up the "snick" of a pocketknife being opened. But before she could say anything, he flashed it in front of her eyes. "I cant very well have what I want with all of your clothes on now can I?" Vixey watched helplessly as Blaze slowly cut away her clothes, not caring if he nicked skin along the way. Finally, her clothes were useless and the pieces thrown on the floor. She did notice that he avoided harming the robe and was confused. "Why don't you destroy the robe too? I mean you said I looked like a parakeet." "Quiet wench," Blaze spat as he backhanded her.

Davy was getting angrier with every dead end they came across. He could feel Vixey was close but where? Then a thought occurred to him. "Are there any secret rooms?" Oberon looked surprised. "Of course, why didn't I think of that. Blaze told me once that there were many secret rooms and he knew them all. There was even a torture chamber and if I know Blaze, that's where he took her. But where was it?"

Vixey was getting worried. She wasn't sure how much time had passed but she knew it was enough for Davy to miss her. She tried contacting him with her mind and found she could barely reach him. She knew he had felt the contact but could he find her in time?

Davy was tired of going room to room. Finally, he told Maccus to grab the rest of the search party and follow him. Before Maccus could ask where, Davy walked through the wall. Without looking to see if Maccus was behind him, he followed his senses until he found his wife.

Blaze had grown tired of beating her and had climbed on top of Vixey. "Now my pet, I will take what I am owed." Vixey braced herself for the intrusion, but it never came. Out of nowhere, a sword flew across the room and hit Blaze square in his ribs. The force of the impart knocked him off of Vixey and across the room. Vixey looked up to see Davy, his normally soft blue eyes now cold and cruel. "Ye made a mistake tangling with the wife of the Devil," Davy snarled as Blaze gasped on the floor standing up and yanking the sword out of his chest. "Wife, ha! More like the Devil's whore. If you'd known her as long as I have you wouldn't think so highly of her. She'd sleep with anyone., well anyone but me." "And you wonder why I wouldn't give you the time of day," Vixey snarled as she struggled with her bonds. Davy growled and picked up his sword and lunged. It would have been a killing blow had Blaze not blocked it with Vixey's sword. She could only watch helplessly as Blaze and Davy crossed swords. Blaze matched Davy's movements until Davy faked right and swung around to slice through the webbing in Blaze's wing. With a roar, Blaze began slashing wildly until Davy's sword clanged against his with such force that Blaze staggered back and tripped over the robe he had neglected to destroy. He stumbled over his own feet and fell, hitting his head against the very table Vixey was shackled on. With Blaze disoriented and weakened, Vixey found that the chains had a bit more give but not enough for her to break them But Davy felt her plight and between the two of them, broke the chains to bits. It was then that Maccus and the others made their way inside. "Seize him," Vixey said weakly as Davy picked the crumpled robe off of the floor and wrapped it around her, mindful of her wing. "Did he," Davy stopped; unable to say what he was thinking. "No, you came in just in time. My hero," Vixey coughed as her legs wobbled and finally gave out. Davy caught her before she could hit the floor and cradled her to his chest. "We should get ye some medical attention."

A short time later found them resting in their quarters. Vixey's wing had to be set before it could heal but she was expected to make a full recovery. As Davy watched her sleeping peacefully, Faylon quietly crept in. "We need to talk," he whispered. "Aye, we do. What will become of Blaze?" At the mention of Blaze's name Vixey whimpered in her sleep. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. The council wants to know what is to be done with Blaze." "Well answer me this. As a Drakel which is worse, being banned for a while and have your wings cut off or be put to death?" "Defiantly cutting off wings would be punishment enough but being banned for two centuries along with it is worse then death." "And it would still be too good for Blaze," came Vixey's sleepy voice as she sat up and stretched. "Ye alright Love?" Vixey smiled at Davy's concern. "Yeah, I'm a little sore from the chains and my wing still hurts like holy hell but I'll live. As for Blaze, I want to break both of his wings before I cut one off. And Davy can cut the other one if he is so inclined." Davy grinned, there was his battle-ready wife. "Aye, and I'd like to break it too." "I'll go inform the council and let you two rest some more. Is there anything else you need?" "I got all I need," Vixey said as she rested her hand on Davy's thigh. "Alright then, I will see to it that you aren't disturbed."

Davy eyed the hand on his thigh and mentally weighed what it meant. It could mean that she just wanted some contact or it could mean she wanted him to love her. He didn't think that was it so soon after her attack but he decided to play along and see where she wanted to take this. As soon as the door was closed, the hand on his thigh slowly inched higher and Vixey had somehow found her way into his lap. "Frisky are we," Davy chuckled as Vixey began nibbling at his beard. Finally, Davy had to stop her. "Love, are you sure you want this so soon after?" "Davy, I want to eradicate every touch and every feeling that he caused. I just need to be close to you." "Well who can argue with that logic," Davy said as she pulled him on top of her.

Faylon had told the guards to make sure no one disturbed them and had told the council what Vixey had said. Then he headed to the kitchen for a break. As he gnawed on a turkey leg, Jayde and Silver came in. "Is there any reason why we cant see Vixey? The guards said to ask you," Jayde said; looking miffed. "I thought it be best if they were left alone. They seemed eager for me to leave and I had a feeling that they were gonna jump each other's bones as soon as I left." "Well at least she's safe and happy," Jayde sighed.

It was some time later when Vixey's rational part of her brain began working again. "Did I make ye forget Blaze," Davy said as she lazily wound a tentacle around her finger. "Blaze who? I'm surprised I can remember my own name after that," Vixey chuckled. "I have to admit, this Gathering thing isn't what I thought it would be," Davy said as Vixey checked her wing for signs of healing. "It never is what anyone expects it to be. Although, I did expect Blaze to pull something after he found out I was already married. I'm surprised the council hasn't said anything about challenging my position." "Do ye think he would?" Vixey just shook her head. "I don't know. I mean he really cant now. If he had just attacked me and not tried anything else he could have. Rape is the worst crime in our society next to murder and the fact that he tried it nullifies his chance at challenging me." "What if I want to challenge him," Davy asked quietly. "It's not unheard of, but it would be a waste of energy, not to mention pointless. What would you challenge him for?" "My wife's honor."

Her honor? Vixey's head swam at his declaration. "As incredibly sweet and noble that is, I think my honor flew out the window a long time ago, more specifically when I married the Devil." Davy had to chuckle at her remark. "I mean it. He dishonored you and if nothing else, he touched something that belongs to me." Davy stopped as he realized what he had just said and waited for her to yell. But to his surprised she only chuckled a bit. "So I belong to ye, like your pipe or your hat?" "No, ye be more important to me then that." "Oh, like the Dutchman." "Nay, you're more important then anything I own or anything in the world and I love ye for finding good in an old Salt like me. Even if'n ye are older and crabbier then me." "Oh that's it mister," Vixey said in mock anger, "I should have you thrown in the dungeon and tortured until you say you're sorry for insulting the Elder." Davy pretended to look afraid. "Oh please have mercy on me oh great Elder." "Only if you promise me you wont challenge Blaze. The looser of the challenge is banned for two Gatherings regardless of what the Elder wants. I know Blaze doesn't have a chance against you, but if there was a small chance, a slight possibility, then he would take it." "Alright, if it will make you happy I will leave it alone. But if he tries anything ever again I will not hesitate to kill him." Vixey's response was forgotten as someone knocked on the door. Reaching out with her mind, Vixey felt Jayde, Silver and Faylon waiting outside. Letting Jayde know it was ok to come in, they made themselves as presentable as they could as the three came in. "How are you feeling Hun, Jayde asked as she sat on the foot of the bed. "Better then I was a few hours ago. Fortunately I have a very understanding and loving husband who has taken very good care of me." "How's the wing Mate," Silver said as he threw his arm around her shoulders. "Better, I think. It still hurts but it was a clean break so it's healing quicker. It will still probably be a week before I can fly though. Blaze wont be so lucky." "Aye, the way word's getting around it'll be a miracle if he makes it to be judged. Everyone's right miffed about what he did," Silver said as he eyed the scratches on Vixey's body that hadn't healed yet. "I don't care if they beat the hell out of him or really what they do to him as long as they leave his wings alone. When will judgment be?" "Well, the council told me as soon as you're up to it," Faylon said as he shifted nervously. "What's going on Faylon?" Vixey knew he had something else on his mind. "There are rumors going around that Blaze and Beckett were working together. I don't think so, but it has come to the attention of the council and they want you to do a mind merge." "Well they can want in one hand and crap in the other, it ain't happening. The last mind merge I did with someone of Blaze's moral fiber I almost go stuck in their mind. I do not intend to do that again. I can read his mind but a mind merge is out of the question. And you can tell them everything in the exact words I used too. When they want to judge Blaze I will be happy to attend, otherwise I will be ending Gathering soon." Faylon paled at those words. Gathering always lasted a week, any less was considered bad luck. "I will tell them, but they won't be happy." "They'll live," Vixey snorted as Faylon left in a hurry.


	18. Judgement and Surprises

Hours later, Faylon hurried back to the Elder's chambers. The council had been in an uproar since Faylon had told him that Vixey refused a mind merge, but were even more upset at the threat to end the Gathering early. They were very well aware of Vixey's temper and how powerful she was so reluctantly, they agreed to her decrees. While a mind merge would tell them definitely whether Blaze and Beckett had been cohorts, reading his mind would potentially tell them the same thing. Unless the mind being read was trained enough to give false memories. And Blaze being who he was, well they wouldn't put it past him. As Faylon relayed all the information to Vixey, she felt a sense of satisfaction mixed with regret that the council was afraid of her. "What are the risks to ye Love with this mind merge," Davy asked; his curiosity peaked. "Besides the risk of being stuck in his filthy mind, if he's skilled enough he can see into my mind. That's not something I'm too keen on." "Well if ye can tell when someone's lying why the need for a mind merge?" "Beats me, the council is stuck in the old ways and some things will never change. But regardless of what they threaten me with, there will be no mind merge." "Whenever you're ready, they wish to see you."

A few minutes later found Vixey and her crew standing in front of the council. She had told them in no uncertain terms would she perform a mind merge. She could see the anger in their faces as they accepted this and summoned the guards to fetch Blaze.

Blaze as it turns out had been a very naughty boy and as a result he had fresh wounds in a various places. "Tried to escape did we," Vixey smugly said. Blaze said nothing as he spat on the ground next to her. One of the guards growled and cuffed him on the back of his head. "Show respect to your Elder you filthy animal." "Now, now," Vixey soothed, "there is no need for all that. We are not animals, even the lowest of us." "Yes Elder, my apologies." "We are all here to pass judgment on one of our own, a thought that saddens me. For centuries before we decided to branch out into the world of man, all we had was each other. We lived in harmony with our own kind, no fights, no murders, no rapes. Then the world of man seemed to be everywhere and we developed camouflage to hide amongst them, but still we did not have contact. Until my ancestor found a sailor floating on the beach. It raised a question of what to do. It was obvious he couldn't leave the poor man to die, but to harbor man was unheard of. He risked his life to nurse that man back to health and send him back into his own kind with a promise to keep everything he saw a secret. The promise came with a curse. If he told anyone, he would suffer a terrible death. It became quite evident he did not keep his promise and we were forced to leave our island and live among the men. I think it is the reason our kind do not trust men." "And they made you Elder why," Blaze mocked, "It sure wasn't because you were the smartest." "You're right. If I had been smarter, I would have gotten rid of you a long time ago. Which brings me back to you. Were you working with Cutler Beckett?" "What? Boy are you barking up the wrong tree. Do you honestly think I would work with a human? Humans wiped out my whole family." "He speaks they truth," she said to the council. "Very well, what is his punishment," Talon said. "His wings will be broken and cut from his body as well as well as a shunning period of two Gatherings or until I feel he has truly suffered as he wanted me to suffer." With that, she tapped the end of the staff three times on the floor. All of a sudden a gust of wind ripped through the Great Hall as a bolt of lightning struck the floor between Vixey and Blaze. "It's done. Take him to the infirmary and prepare him."

As Davy followed Vixey and the others to the infirmary, he could feel a sense of nervousness coming from her. It was almost as if she were hiding something. As they entered the room, they could see Blaze tied face down and his wings pulled up to their extent. Vixey had an almost evil grin as she looked at how helpless Blaze was and Davy couldn't help but notice the look in her eyes. It was the same look she had when she ripped Beckett's heart out of his chest. She was beautiful but frightening all at the same time and he couldn't help but wishing they were the only people in the room.

Vixey caught what he had been thinking and flashed him a toothy grin as she ran her fingers along the edge of one of Blaze's wings. "Are we all ready then?" "You'll live to regret this you," Blaze's voice was silenced as Oberon tied his mouth shut. "Thank you Oberon, I was just about to do that myself. As much as I would love to hear him scream, his mouth is not something I want to hear. As for what was coming out of your mouth next, yeah, I am a bitch and damn proud of it." Davy watched as she picked up a dagger and pushed it through the webbing of his wing. She could hear Blaze's screaming but it was muffled by the gag and she couldn't help but smile as she carefully worked the blade around each of the bony fingers of the wing until each section had been cut out. Then she tossed the dagger to Davy. "Your turn Dearest."

Davy didn't take the care that Vixey had and savagely ripped the blade through the webbing before ripping it out the rest of the way. Then, tossing the dagger to the side, he looked at Vixey for the next part. "Shall we do this at the same time or one after the other?" "I think at the same time. I'm kinda ready to get this over with. Torture really isn't my thing. Well, maybe a little." Davy grinned and gripped the base of the wing at the same time Vixey did. With a grunt, a twist and two loud cracks, the wings dangled limply from their stems before they were sawed off and the stumps cauterized. Blaze had passed out by the time they were broken so he didn't feel the two splintered bones grinding against each other. After checking for any other bleeding, Blaze was taken back to his cell until he was fully healed. "What will happen now," Davy asked as they headed to the Great hall. "He will stay there until the end of Gathering. Then someone will take him home," Vixey said as she leaned against him. All of a sudden she had felt a little woozy. "Are ye alright Love," Davy said as he noticed how pale she looked. "I'm fine, just a little dizzy." "I think we shall take our meal in our room," Davy said to Faylon as he picked Vixey up and headed back down the hall.

AS they had headed down the hall, Davy noticed that Vixey didn't fight nearly as much as he thought she would. "I can walk you know," she had protested weakly. "Aye, and ye can fall on yer face when yer legs give out too," he had argued back. "Yer not feeling yerself, even I can see that. I think the punishment be too much for ye." "Ha," she had scoffed back, "I did worse then that and not flinched. Remember that soldier back when Jim was captured?" "Aye," boy did he remember. "I've done a hell of a lot worse in my heydays and didn't flinch. That's not what it is."

Finally they were resting comfortably in their room, Vixey's head on his chest and her leg wound around his crab-like one. It still amazed him how she accepted his crustacean-like limbs with the same love and adoration as the fleshy ones. AS he pondered all of this, he noticed her shirt had ridden up to expose the soft scales on her belly. He had been amazed after her second transformation to her human like form with all of the characteristics she had kept from her dragon form, the belly scales being one of them. As he absentmindedly ran his hand across her belly, he thought he could a feel a slight bulge. It was barely noticeable but it was definitely there. He was just about to ask her about it when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Davy said a bit irritated. His mood was calmed however when Faylon entered carrying a tray laden with various foods. "Sleeping peacefully I see," Faylon said as he set they tray down. "Aye, but not for long once she smells the food. What do ye make of this," Davy said as he showed Faylon the bulge. "It could be anything. Stress, too much food, that time of the month, pregnancy, anything can cause a bump like that." "Did ye say pregnancy?" "Would that be a bad thing?" "Nay, just, unexpected. I never thought after I became what I am now that I would have a chance for children." "Well, you did marry one of the most fertile beings on the planet. I think a Drakel could breed with anything or anyone." The thought of Vixey trying to breed with the Kraken came to mind and he shuddered and pushed it away. "Well, I think I'll let you two rest and enjoy yourselves. I think the council wants to speak with her when she is feeling better." "In that case tell them I have the plague," Vixey said sleepily as she opened one eye. Faylon chuckled, "I doubt that would stop them from seeing you," he said as he left them to their meal. "Ye should sit up and eat before it gets cold." "Not real hungry, just tired," Vixey sighed as snuggled against him and smiled as he lay his arm across her back. "Ye sure, they have fresh mangoes," he said as he waved a piece under her nose. "That's dirty pool, you know mangoes are my favorite." "Aye and ye better sit up before they're all gone." Vixey frowned and said nothing before sitting up and plucking a few mangoes off the tray then devoured them with ravenous hunger. "Thought ye weren't hungry," Davy jeered as she reached for more fruit. "Oh shut up," she said as she slapped his arm.

It was only later, after the food was long gone, when Davy thought to ask her about the bump. He slid his hand under her shirt and briefly rubbed at the little bulge. "Hey, not on a full stomach," Vixey said as she patted his hand. "I wasn't thinking about that Love, well not much. What do ye make of this?": "It's call a stomach, everyone has them." "Not that," Davy chuckled as he lifter her shirt. "This."

Vixey stared at the bump for a minute. "Don't know, it's new though isn't it?" "Aye. It is. Love, this is gonna sound funny but when was yer last cycle?" "My what?" "The female thing that comes once a month." "Oh that. Hmm, the last time I remember having it was before Jim was killed. Why do you, oh wait a minute. You think I might be pregnant?" "And I thought ye were the smart one," Davy chuckled. "Smart assed maybe. Now that you mention it, I have been feeling a little funny but I just figured it was nerves or something. I'll go to the healer after I talk to the council." "Ye know that means you actually have to go see the council now." "Crap."

Fortunately for her the council only wanted to confirm Blaze's punishment so her time with them was relatively short. AS she headed to see the healer, she was almost afraid to find out if she was carrying life within her. It wasn't that she was afraid of having Davy's child, far from it. IT was the fact that there would always be danger for her. Blaze had family that had been banned for a few centuries and most of them were as bad as he was. His father, thankfully long dead, had been far more maniacal then Blaze ever thought he could be. But his three brothers were still alive. His mother and six sisters, however were complete gems. Vixey got along with them just fine but they had sent word that they were tied up between children and sickness to make the journey. She had a feeling that it was more Blaze's doing then any sickness but there was nothing she could do. Gathering was optional, she couldn't make someone come. As she headed to the healer, she could see Davy waiting outside for her. "That was quick." "Eh, they just wanted to confirm everything. Nothing major." "OH good, well the Healer be waiting on ye." "Oh good, so we wont be waiting long," she said as she took the arm he offered.

The next few minutes drug on as the Healer took a blood sample and mixed it with some sort of green potion. It smelled horrible, until it turned blue. Then it smelled like the ocean, or at least that what Vixey thought it smelled like. Finally the healer turned to them. "Congratulations Elder, you're pregnant."

Davy was frozen in shock. He was going to be a father. Finally, he snapped out of his stupor and looked to see Vixey with tears in her eyes. "I hope those be happy tears." "What do you think silly," Vixey said as wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer for a tender kiss.


	19. Another Surprise

It was another day before they shared the news. By that time Gathering was almost over. Davy was getting restless to get back on the open waters and truth be told, so was Vixey. As they lay in the comfort of each other's arms, Vixey explained that there was one more thing left before Gathering could end. "The Blessing of the Children dates back many centuries. The children are kept by several caregivers during Gathering until it is time for them to be blessed by the Elder. It is supposed to bring luck, good fortune and good health to the children and everyone around them." "Aye, I can see how important it is. Will it be soon?" "Yes Mr. Eager Beaver," She teased. "I miss the smell of the sea too, don't feel bad. Once it's in your blood it never really leaves does it?" "No," he said as she stretched and snuggled against him, "but it is good sometimes to test your land legs. Wont be too much longer when I can go ashore again." "Any ideas, well now that you don't have to visit the chest anymore?" "Aye," he said with a mischievous glint in his eye, "I have a few ideas." "Just to clue you in, making love on the beach is not romantic when you have sand stuck in every crack and crevice so if that's on your list you can mark it off." "It wasn't, well not really. I was actually thinking of heading back to your island. Maybe the jungle would be better suited to you. And I also wanted you to look at Jim's resting place. I hope we did everything like you wanted."

She didn't exactly want to go there. It would make Jim's death seem so, final. But for her to be able to move on with her life, she had to face the facts. "Ok, when Gathering is over we can head for there. I should get closure before the baby's born anyway." Davy was satisfied with that, he wanted for her to move on and grieve. "You're so understanding," Vixey said as she pulled herself up to lay a gentle kiss on Davy's soft lips. "I was thinking about names and if it's a girl how do you feel about Nora Jadzia?" "Love, where did ye get that name from?" "Jadzia is an old family name. It means warrior but Nora just popped into my head, why?" "Nora was me Mum's name." "How do you feel about that name then?" "I love me mum dearly. She one the one who was always there for me no matter what. Even when I became what I am today she stood by me. She's been gone a long time but I've never forgotten her. Me Father, I never really knew. I only met him once and it wasn't a pleasant meeting." "Yeah I can understand that. Which brings me to boy names. What is your middle name anyway?" all of a sudden, Davy looked a little sheepish. "To tell ye the truth, David is my middle name. Me first name is Colin." Vixey bit back a chuckle. "So your name is Colin David Jones?" There was a large pause before she burst out laughing. "Well I reckon Davy Jones locker sounds better then Colin Jones locker," she finally said between laughs. Do not mock me, Wife," Davy half threatened as he towered over her. Vixey stared into his angry eyes before quickly planting a playful kiss between his eyes and leapt off of the bed and across the room before Davy could utter a word. "You'll pay dearly for that," he growled as he extracted himself from the tangle of bed sheets and took a step towards her. "You'll have to catch me first you old Crab," she taunted as she sped down the hall.

Faylon was heading towards the Elder's chambers when Vixey came running down the hall shrieking with laughter. Faylon barely got out of the way as she breezed past. "I'd stay out of the way, Davy's right behind me." "I needed to tell you something, the Healer wanted to see you." Vixey slowed down and came back. "IS it serious?" "I don't know, but they needed to see you right away." "Ok when Davy runs by here tell him to meet me in the Great Hall later but tell him it was Elder business. Don't say anything to him. I don't want him to worry." "Of course." Faylon watched as she continued down the hall as he waited for Davy to show up. As Davy came hobbling around the corner, Faylon made it a point to stand in his path. "The Elder had business to attend to. She said to tell you to meet her in the Great Hall and she would be there when she was done." "Aright," Davy puffed, "I was getting tired anyway."

It wasn't long after that Vixey showed up. Jayde watched her as she walked across the room to where Davy was sitting. What happened next made her glad she wasn't sitting near them.

Davy eyed Vixey as she made her way towards him. She had a silly grin on her face as she sat down next to him and scooted until they were touching shoulders. "I just came back from the Healer." "Aye, and," Davy said as he took a large swig from his cup. "We're having twins!" Vixey jumped back as he sprayed pineapple juice all over the table. When he had finally composed himself he looked her in the eye. "Ye had to wait until I was drinking?" "Sorry, didn't time it like that." "Is he sure they be twins?" "Yeah, after we left he noticed something unusual in the sample and did further tests. Did you want to know what they are?"

Davy's head was getting that swimmy feeling again, a feeling he had never felt before he met Vixey. His mind was still trying to wrap itself around one life, now there were two. "Twins? How did we manage to make one let along two?" He was really talking to himself but Vixey reminded him that twins ran in her family. "What are we having," Davy finally said. "Well we got lucky enough to get one of each and I wanted to know how you felt about having David as one of the names?" Davy pondered her words for a minute. Would it be so bad having a child named after him? He always liked his name even though Colin wasn't very fear inspiring. "Well while we're at it, might as well put Colin in front of it. I always wanted a son named after me." "I don't know how you manage to read my mind, but I was thinking about that too," Vixey chuckled. "I guess it's true what they say, great minds do think alike," Davy said as he mopped up the juice from the table. "Or crazy ones," Vixey chuckled.

It was later that night when the Blessing Ceremony took place. Davy was surprised at how many children there were. Most of the them looked like Drakel but some had human qualities. Some of them had feathers or fur while some had scales or normal skin. Vixey explained to him that as many dragons had scales, some had fur or feathers instead. As Vixey took her place in the Elder's chair, all the children gathered around her. Davy watched as she spoke to each one of them before moving on to the next one. Finally, after she has spoken to all of them, she raised her hands high . "Great And mighty Dragon ancestors, we come before you and ask that you lay your blessings upon our offspring and grant your wisdom and good fortune to carry them and their loved ones. We ask that you give your guidance and your strength to all those here and bless the ones not here. Keep us all under your great wings. We come before you as your humble servants to ask that you watch over those that have passed on and bring then to the afterlife to join us when our time comes. We ask that you forgive those who have wronged us as we forgive them in our hearts. Let us go forth and continue our existence. As the Elder, I officially declare Gathering to be over." With that, she tapped the end of her staff against the floor twice. In a swirl of wind and light, the staff was lifted up and the crystal inside the dragon's head glowed. A brilliant light appeared and engulfed the whole room. Davy felt a sense of peace radiate through him for a moment then everything went back to normal and the staff was nowhere to be seen. Vixey's hair and skin, however hadn't changed. The white streaks stood out even more now and her skin had darkened to a deep green. "What in the seven levels of hell was that?" Vixey looked at him as though nothing had changed. "What do ye mean Love?" "Why is yer hair and skin the same?" "Every hundred years, I age a little more. I mean I still age between that but not as noticeably as after Gathering. Which by the way is over. We can leave any time. But I would wait until morning. I would also tell the crew in the morning to stock up on supplies. But hey, it's your ship."

Davy was amazed at how bossy she had become. "Aye it is my ship, and don't ye be forgetting it." Though the face he made was stern, Vixey could see the smile in his eyes. "Aye, Aye Captain," she said as she made a mock salute before leaning over and kissing him between his eyes.

Marcus watched the whole scene play out up to the kissing between the eyes. He was surprised that the Captain would show this much emotion and tenderness in public but he reminded himself that Vixey was the Captain's wife. He couldn't help but chuckle as the Captain began chasing Vixey down the hall.


	20. Ultimatum

Ok, bit of warning here...A bit of Davy a smidge out of character...well from the movie's point of view...with his emotions...not so much out of character...anyway you'll see...as for the first short paragraph, well it was meant to go with the last chapter but i didnt realize it until just now. sorry. Oh yeah i almost forgot about this whole "i dont own squat i'm just borrowing blah blah blah thing. Vixey, Jayde, Jayde's son, Vixey's son and well pretty much anything with Vixey's past is mine. The name Drakel is from a RPG i play sometimes. Davy jones, as well as all the other character you recognize are not mine..But a girl can dream lol...excpet for Calypso...I'd like to...aw nuts i'm babbling sorry...on with the story.

Bill had seen the whole thing as well. "It's good to see the both of them happy." "Aye, and I be hoping it stays that way. If'n She finds out, it wont be pretty."

Somewhere across the ocean in a little swamp, Tia Dalma came out of her trance and howled like a wounded animal. "We be seein who be happy and who be not happy very soon."

The next morning, the crew of the Dutchman as well as the Pearl, set sail. Vixey was a bit reluctant to let Jayde and Silver out of her sight for long but she knew they couldn't hang around forever. "Be sure to let us know when you're getting close," Jayde said as the two women hugged goodbye. "Oh trust me, there is no way you're missing out on this." "Take care of her, Mate," Silver said to Davy. It felt strange to have someone call him Mate, but Davy found he rather liked it. "Of course I will." Vixey watched as the ship turned and started away. "Hey Jayde," Vixey called out, "Don't let Jack teach that kid to much nonsense!" "Oh trust me, I wont", Jayde called back as they got further away.

Vixey watched the Pearl until it was out of sight. When it finally disappeared, she let out a large sigh. "Something on yer mind," Davy said as he came up behind her and put an arm around her. "No, it's just that half my heart just disappeared over the horizon. But the rest of me heart is right here on the Dutchman. I just kinda feel, funny I guess. Something wasn't right when I woke up this morning." "It's not the twins is it," Davy said as he protectively laid a hand on the protruding bulge. Vixey smiled at his concern. "No, they're fine. Just something in the air I guess." It was at that moment the sky suddenly filled with dark clouds. "Peculiar weather we're having," Vixey said, "wouldn't you say so?" "That ain't the weather," Maccus said as he came up behind them. "Mr. Maccus, take Vixey inside and stay with her until I return." "Oh no, I refuse to be treated like I'm made of glass just because I'm pregnant. You're gonna tell me what's going on." Davy stooped down to look in her eyes. "Please go with Maccus," he whispered, "Just trust me on this." Finally Vixey nodded and headed into the cabin, Maccus following behind her.

As Maccus bolted the door behind them, Vixey flopped down in a nearby chair. "OK, What the hell is going on?" "It's HER," Maccus simply said. "Oh, you mean the HER, her? As in the one that made him," she made the motion of ripping out ones heart. "Aye, that be her." "I would love to give her a piece of me mind but if he wants me to stay out of sight, I guess he has a reason."

Out on deck, the crew weren't surprised to see Calypso appear. "Davy Jones, I hear there be glad tidin's. Ye got married. And I hear she be expectin'." "Not that it's any of your concern but yes I did, and she is." "I wan' to see her." "Why? What purpose do ye have in seein her?" "I just want to congratulate her and see what kind of woman is attracted to de Devil of de Sea."

Vixey was telling Maccus the names they had picked out for the twins when the cabin door opened. "Well that was quick," Vixey said as Davy walked in but her next words died in the throat as she saw who came in behind him. "YOU!," the two women said simultaneously. "Tia Dalma, you're Calypso?" "You're him wife," Calypso spat. "I always wondered what kind of woman could break his heart like that but now I see. I wish we'd have met all those years ago Davy, I could have told you about her." With a growl Calypso lunged at Vixey, only to hit Vixey's wing shield and bounce back. "Ye will regret that," Calypso snarled. "What defending myself? I think not. What I will regret is not having met Davy before you did. And while we're on the subject, how in the hell could you do that to him? I mean, you have a wonderful man who loves you and you throw it away? You promise to wait for him, to be faithful to him. And on the one day you could be together, you don't show up. Why?" "It is me nature, he knew dat." "To coin a phrase from Jayde, that's bull shark. Your 'nature' doesn't work. You didn't love him, you just loved toying with his emotions. It's women like you that give women like me a bad name. And then let's get to Hector. Granted, you did give him comfort during the hard times when I couldn't but to steal him? You knew his heart was weak and you used it to your advantage. And then we get to Cutler Becket. You couldn't wait to tell him my secrets. You gave him the information to kill my only son and turn me into a monster. For that, I will never forgive you." "Who said I wanted forgiveness? I make no apologies for what I done. All de men that have even known me knew what I was like. They just hope they could change me." "But they cant. You're as harsh and unchanging as the sea. I know that, but it still doesn't make up for it. I should hold you responsible for my son's death but it doesn't matter anymore. I just want to know why?" "Why? Ain't it obvious? I wanted you gone. I saw de two of you getting closer." "Oh, I get it. You couldn't stand that someone else was interested in Davy. You wanted him unhappy for the rest of his life. Well I hate to tell you, it won't work. I'm not going anywhere. I could waste a whole lifetime blaming you and Beckett and whoever else I feel like but there are more important things to worry about." "Like your unborn chile." "How did you? Never mind, yes like that. My child's life is more important then any petty argument either one of us could come up with. Now if you will excuse me, I have things I need to do." Before anyone could say anything else, she walked past all of them and headed out the door. Koleniko was standing outside. "Are ye alright, Vixey?" "I'm fine, just a little irritated, and hungry."

As she entered the galley, Jacque knew something was wrong with Vixey. "Welcome home Chile, what be the matter?" "Calypso," she said; her voice dripping with venom. "Don' tell me she's here?" "OK, I wont." "What does she want?" "To irritate me. We go back a long way and it's not exactly a pleasant one." She looked up and groaned as Calypso walked in. "I wasn't finished with ye yet. "I want ye gone from de Dutchman and from Davy Jones' life." "Kinda hard when we're married and having children." Calypso's eyes narrowed at her last statement but said nothing else about it. "I make you a deal. You leave de Dutchman and Davy Jones and I'll bring your son back. It is a fair offer." "Fair? You want me to chose between my husband and my son? I wont do it." "It that de way ye want it, then ye will regret it." Without another word, Calypso headed back up the stairs.

Davy had been listening at the galley door but quickly returned to his room when he heard Calypso leaving. As he pretended to busy himself with various charts, she walked in and closed the door. "There be much we need to discuss."

A little while later, Vixey headed back to the cabin with their supper. Figuring Calypso would still be there, she prepared herself for anything. As she walked in, Calypso was sitting on Davy's lap and as mad as she was, Vixey could tell he wasn't enjoying it. As she set the tray down on the table she spared a brief glance in their direction and in the calmest voice said, "you know, if you scoot over a bit I can sit on the other knee and we can both enjoy his company. If I had known ye would stay this long I would have brought you a plate as well." "I will not be staying much longer." "You bitch, I mean what a shame." Vixey made no move to cover up her slip and Calypso knew it. "I know what you're doing, you're tryin to make me angry or intimidate me. Trust me, if he cant do it, you cant. And boy does he try. Be he's a lot cuter when he does it. If you want, you can have that plate and I'll go get another one and we can all eat." "If ye like," Calypso said in a sweet voice.

Vixey hurried out the door and back to the galley. "Jacque, another plate if you please and make it a volcano special." "Another one? De Captain hates spicy foods." "Not for him, for her. And make it extra hot. If she wants to play hardball, she doesn't know who she's messing with." "What if she wants the other plate?" "Hey it's as hot as this one. If she wants it, she can have it."

As she headed back into the cabin, she noticed that Davy and Calypso had already seated themselves. Calypso had placed herself in Vixey's normal spot and had placed the other chair at the furthest end of the table. With a sigh, she jerked her head and the chair slid across the floor to the other side of Davy. "What do ye call this," Calypso said motioning to the food. "Five alarm Chili. It's an old recipe of my mom's." "I want your plate." "Why, it's the same thing." "Aye, but you did sometin' to dis." "Fine, if it makes you happy, take this one." Vixey slid her plate across the table and Calypso slid the other one back to her. She glanced over at Davy and smiled as he covered her hand with his. Calypso noticed it and was about to say something when she suddenly stood up, knocking her chair over. She was clutching her throat. "Water," she croaked.

The crew on deck heard the crash from inside the Captain's quarters. "I be wagerin Vixey be giving Calypso a run fer her money," Bootstrap said to Maccus. Maccus was about to reply when Calypso burst through the door, leapt over the side of the ship and into the ocean. Vixey and Davy peered out in amusement. "I guess I should have told her five alarm meant it was hot," She said before they both chuckled loudly.

IT was later that night when Calypso reappeared. "Ye think ye have me beat liddle snake, but ye wrong." "First of all, I'm a dragon not a snake. Second of all, it's not my fault you took my plate. The one you traded wasn't seasoned yet and when I went to get the other one, I seasoned it to save time. If you hadn't been so mistrusting you would have been fine. Now, let's get something strait. I am NOT leaving. I love Davy and the life we created and there is nothing you can offer me to make me leave. Jim is dead, I've accepted that. He died in battle, the way my people would rather die. And as tempting as your offer is, Jim wouldn't want it that way and neither do I." "Very well, If that is the way you want it, then that is the way it will be. But mark me words, ye will regret marrying dis man." "Really, well why don't you hold your breath until I do." With a growl, Calypso disintegrated into a pile of crabs which crawled into every corner and under the door until they disappeared. "Ye know being a goddess an all she doesn't have to breathe," Davy said as Vixey shooed a stray crab out the door. "I know dear, it was my way of saying go to hell." Davy chuckled at this before picking Vixey up and carrying her to bed. "I'm pregnant not crippled." "Aye, I know, but I enjoy havin ye in me arms." Vixey smiled as he pulled back the covers and set her on the bed. "I wonder what she meant by I'll regret marrying you? I mean, does she mean she's gonna make our lives a living hell or what?" "Love, don't pay her any mind. She always was a fan of dramatics." Davy settled next to her and pulled her to his chest. Within minutes, his breathing became slower and soon he was fast asleep. Vixey, however, wasn't so fortunate. She was wide awake and despite several bowls of chili, ravenously hungry. Wiggling out of Davy's arms, she wrapped a long white shawl around her and quietly headed towards the galley.

She found Jacque still washing dishes from supper. "I know ye didn't leave the comfort of de Captain's arm to help me with de dishes." "Oh gee, ye found me out. I couldn't sleep and I was hungry." "I be tinkin' it be de witch's visit that be de cause of insomnia." "I guess, I mean she really didn't intimidate me, but what she said is still stuck with me." Jacque made a noise of protest as she took up a plate and began scrubbing. "De Captain be keelhaulin' me for letting ye do dis. What did she say?" "Trust me, he wont. She told me that she wanted me gone and that if I didn't leave Davy and the Dutchman, I would regret every marrying him. Basically the same thing you heard. I cant believe she wanted me to chose my living husband and unborn children over my dead son. She just cant stand to see him happy."

Davy woke with a start and reached out and found the space beside him empty. His mind flashed back to Calypso and he hurriedly got dressed. As he exited the cabin, he caught Hadras by the shirt. "Have ye seen Vixey?" "Aye Captain, she was headed to the galley the last I saw of her." "Good man, carry on." He watched in amusement as Hadras stumbled off in surprise before heading to the galley himself. As he came to the door, he could hear Vixey and Jacque talking about Calypso's visit. "Women like her drive me crazy. They think that they can toy with a man's emotions and make him fall for them and then break their hearts. Did I ever tell you about Silver's wife?" "I didn't know he had a wife." "Aye, he did. He was young then, about 30 or so I think. She was younger about 20. They were married for about a year and then he had the accident that cost him his leg and eye. He saved the life of the Captain he was serving under. The Captain was so grateful, he gave him a hefty severance pay. Not to mention he had his cut of the treasures they had found. He was well off and she took advantage of it, squandered every last cent. She didn't love him, she told me she didn't. I tried several times to tell him but he loved her so much, he didn't believe me. Until she tried to kill me." "Why would she do dat?" "Because I had solid proof she was cheating on him and I threatened to tell him. Silver walked in right before she stabbed me with a dagger I had given him for his last birthday. On any other person it would have been a killing blow. But when she saw that it didn't phase me she knew something was wrong." "What did she do," Jacque asked as they moved on to the pots and pans. "At first she tried to tell the townspeople that I attacked her, but Silver stuck up for me. Then she told them that I must have a been a witch or something to survive the wound. Finally, the town magistrate had had enough and sent her to a mental institute. They granted Silver a divorce and he went back to the sea as my first mate. But he never forgot how she treated him. She was the one who said no one would ever want to have children with him. I hate her to this day." "Don't loose faith Chile. You and de Captain have a strong bond, stronger now with de babes and ain't nothin' she can do to break it." "I know. I love him more then I've ever loved anyone and I feel more alive knowing that we created these little blessings out of love. I didn't think I'd ever fall in love again, much less have any more children. Did you ever think of Davy as a father?" "Chile, I never thought of him as anyone's husband much less anyone's father. De things I've seen in the past would curl yer hair." "I've seen him angry and I've seen him gentle I've seen his bloodlust. .I know what he's capable and it doesn't scare me."

Davy smiled as he heard this. He didn't scare her, but she could sure scare him sometimes. He tried to act innocent as he entered the room. "Oh there ye be, I wondered where ye had gotten off to." "I couldn't sleep and you looked so peaceful so I decided I would get up so I wouldn't disturb you." "Me, peaceful? I doubt it." "Ye are when yer asleep. Ye look so cute and innocent." "HA! I be nothing of the sort." "I didn't say ye were," Vixey huffed, "I said ye looked. There's a difference." Jacque said nothing as the two continued the conversation back up the stairs. He had never seen the Captain so relaxed.

Sunrise came to quickly in Vixey's opinion. Davy had kept her up most of the night, mostly talking, but the rest of it... Well, Vixey was surprised she could still walk. Davy had shown her time and time again he could be gentle, but his sheer strength and force both in bed and in battle always amazed her. As she rolled over to Davy's side, she found it empty. It was still warm so she knew he hadn't been gone long.

She found him at the helm, Palifico at the wheel. "Good morning gentlemen." "Good morning Mrs. Jones," Palifico said, " how be ye this fine morning?" "A little queasy but that's normal. I would have been a lot better if my bed hadn't been cold and empty when I woke up." "Some of us don't have the luxury of staying in bed all day," Davy said winking at Palifico. "Luxury? You think it's a luxury carrying around two little squids that make me look like a beached whale, make my ankles swell and make me wanna hurl half the day." Davy knew Vixey was just teasing but sharing a heart, he could feel her emotions and he knew just how sick she had felt and how tired she was. "Want a break Palifico," Vixey asked as she came up behind him. "Aye, now that ye mention it. The call o' nature has had me name for the last few hours." Vixey chuckled and took his place at the wheel. "Ye know I was only teasing," Davy whispered as he came up behind her. "I know, ye old sea dog. I can tell ye right now, enjoy this while ye can because in a few months I'm gonna be very hard to get along with. Females of my species tend to get a bit crabby." "How will I be able to tell the difference?" "Not funny," Vixey said as she playfully slapped his arm.

The rest of the day went smoothly, too smoothly for Vixey's liking. There was still something in the air that bothered her, but she couldn't tell what. It was also too quiet but Vixey had an idea that would change that.

Davy and Jimmylegs were so engrossed with their conversation that neither of them noticed Vixey clawing her way up the mast. She realized what was wrong with her. She hadn't flown in months. As she stood at the top of the mast, she relished in the cool wind blowing her hair. As she spread her wings, Davy finally noticed where she was perched and panicked. "Woman, ye get down from there before ye hurt yourself." "As my Captain wishes," she called back as her muscles tensed.

Davy watched as she leapt from the mast and plummeted towards him. Right before she hit the deck, she flapped her wings and soared high above the ship. He breathed a sigh of relief but it was short lived as he realized she was headed strait for him. He felt the floor beneath his feet disappear as she grabbed him under his arms and rose back into the sky. "We'll be back," she called to the bewildered crew.

As they got out of sight, Davy looked up at the expression of pure glee that was on Vixey's face. "What do ye think yer doing? Ye could hurt yerself." "Do you remember the last time I flew?" "Nay, now that ye mention it." "Well neither do I. Besides, ye said one day ye wanted to fly with me." Davy had to admit she was right. "What about the babies? Wont all me weight hurt them?" "Female Dragons fly for days, sometimes weeks to find a safe place to lay their eggs. In the old days after our island was destroyed it was the same way but we gave birth to live young. We can fly well into the ninth month carrying a lot of weight if necessary but it's not advisable. But right now, I'm in no danger. Besides, a Drakel that does not fly sometimes falls into a deep depression. That's one of the reasons I've been so blue." "That combined with Jim's death and yer hormones," Davy reminded her. "Yeah, that too. So how do ye like it?" "Well, I'd like it a lot better if I wasn't dangling over the water." "I can fix that," Vixey said as she swung Davy up onto her back.

A few hours later, it was starting to get dark and the crew started to worry. "What if something happened to Vixey and they both crashed," Clanker said as he played Liar's dice with Maccus and Palifico. "The Captain can teleport now and if not he can swim. Not to mention Vixey's got that sea beast," Maccus said. Clanker had to admit he was right. Still, he had grown quite fond of Vixey and he hated to see anything happen to her. "Hey, what's that ahead," Penrod called from the crows nest. In the distance they could see a large shape flying closer and closer to them. As it got closer, they could see their Captain sitting on Vixey's back, his tentacled beard blowing in the breeze. As they got to the ship, Vixey looped the loop before diving into the sea. "Well," Jimmylegs said as their jaws dropped, "I for one wont be saying anything to the Captain about this."


	21. The Ultimate Test

I know it's been awhile since i updated and i'm sorry but i hope this will make up for it. um can't think of any warnings...might be a little bit of kissing but nothing graphic

As they sank down into the cool water, Vixey sighed as her dry skin was soothed. "That's the only thing I hate about flying, it dries my skin out." Davy nodded as they sank to the bottom. "Aye, but I have to admit it was exhilarating." "Ooh, big word there. You sure you know what it means," Vixey teased. Davy was about to reply when something bumped into his back. The water was too cloudy to make out anything definite but Davy could see that whatever it was, was big. As the water settled they could see Neko and a large shark, locked in a fight. "Neko, what the hell?" Neko turned to look at her as the shark charged. Vixey had little time to react as she used her wing shield and sent a bolt of energy careening towards the shark.

Davy watched as the force of the blast sent the shark hurtling head over tail until it slammed into a large coral wall. Vixey watched as it floated to the bottom, stunned for now. She took the time to examine Neko's wounds. "Why would you want to pick a fight with a great white?" She could feel Neko's embarrassment as he hung his head and keened softly. "Is he alright," Davy asked softly. He couldn't believe he cared about the beast but he had grown fonder of it since it had helped them rescue Vixey.

"Luckily his wounds aren't serious. They'll heal quickly and should cause him any problems. The shark however, caught the most of it." They watched as the shark cautiously looked around before speeding off into the depths. "I wonder what the fight was about," Vixey said thoughtfully. Neko briefly sent an image of the shark getting too close to the ship. Smiling, Vixey stroked his head and attempted to wrap her arms around the large scaly neck. "So it was a territorial thing eh Neko? As much as I appreciate it, you don't need to hurt yourself over something like that. Now if it had come close to me while I was in the water that would be one thing." "So the beast was protecting yeh. That be coming in handy when we get stuck in battle," Davy finally said. "He seems to get over protective when I'm pregnant. I guess even though I'm not alone this time he feels he has to protect me." "Aye, I forget ye were alone with Jim. I suppose if Silver had known ye were pregnant he would have stayed around," Davy sighed as they headed towards the surface.

Vixey chuckled as they climbed up onto the deck. The crew was doing everything but look at them. "What the hell is all of your problems? It's not like you've never seen me fly before." Maccus was the only one brave enough to speak. "Begging yer pardon but it's not that We have seen you fly, but not the Captain." Davy chuckled and crossed his arms before speaking. "Ye better get used to it then. As long as Vixey is willing, I think I will fly more often." Without another word he headed into his cabin.

The next few months progressed rather quickly in Vixey's opinion but Davy, however, though they drug on forever. He was used to the crabbiness but the mood swings, nausea and insatiable appetite in the kitchen and the bedroom was new. It didn't stop at the door either. Before, she knew to leave her feelings at the door or their room but now she couldn't help every time she passed her husband to smack him on the rear. At first he let it go but after he heard Maccus and Clanker snickering about it he had to set her strait. He found her as usual helping Jacque in the galley. As he started in, he stopped as he heard her say something to Jacque. "I cant seem to stop it. Every time I walk by him, it's like someone has a string attached to my hand and I cant help but slap his behind. I know it must irritate him being on deck but I cant seem to stop. It's been that way since Calypso's last visit." Davy stopped as his mind went back to the visit a month ago. She had come in the middle of a storm, once again threatening Vixey to make her leave. There was no bargain just a warning. Vixey had started the rump smacking the next day. Now it made a bit of sense. Jacque's voice broke thought his thoughts. "Maybe ye be trying to show Calypso that De Captain belong to you." Davy watched as Vixey smiled. "I think I'm more his then he is mine. And I wouldn't have it any other way." Davy chose that moment to make his entrance. "There ye be. I must speak with me wife Jacque." "Of course Captain, I'll go see if there be any stray dishes in the mess hall." Davy waited until he was out of sight before he spoke. "So that be the reason for the smacking of the Captain's arse?" Vixey shook with laughter before calming herself enough to speak. "I hate that word." "What word, arse," Davy said with a hint of a smile. "Aye, that one. If yer gonna talk about it, say it right." "So what will happen if I tell ye to kiss me arse," Davy said as his smile got bigger. "Well, I might decide to kick it across the deck or you might find your 'arse' sleeping alone tonight." "Ye wouldn't be that cruel to yer husband, would ye?" Vixey smiled as he put his arm around her shoulders. He knew she wouldn't make him sleep alone because it would punish both of them. "Of course not," she finally sighed, "but I cant promise that I'll stop the daily rump swatting." Davy chuckled and headed back up the stairs, Vixey beside him as Jacque met them at the top of the stairs. "Goin back to bed are we?" "Yeah, thanks for listening Mate." "Ye know ye can always come talk to ol' Jacque if ye need to." He watched as Vixey smiled and headed up the stairs, the Captain's arm around her waist. He only hoped that Calypso would stay away.

As the weeks turned to months, Vixey's belly expanded. Her most often heard complaint was that she couldn't see her feet and she couldn't keep her balance. No one knew how important that would be until she was 7 months along.

The morning started off like any other morning except there was a storm brewing. Davy told her that they were going to try to steer around it but if they couldn't for her to go below. As the morning progressed, however, it seemed like the storm was chasing them. It became very clear as a large wave broke over the deck that the storm wasn't going away. Vixey had just told Bill that she was going to her cabin when a humongous wave slammed into her and knocked her off her feet, sending her heard first into the mast.

Davy watched everything as if in slow motion as Vixey hit the mast head first. With the speed and agility of a tiger, he leapt from the helm and raced to his wife's unconscious form. As he carried her into their cabin out of the rain, he noticed the blood soaking her hair. Jacque came out of nowhere with bandages and stopped the bleeding. An hour later Jacque came back to check on Vixey. "It doan look good Captain, that be a nasty bump. But Vixey be strong." "Aye, I just wish she would wake up."

She could hear voices above her as she came to. As she opened her eyes the owners of the voices loomed over her. "Love, thank the heavens you're awake. How do ye feel?" As he leaned over to her she felt herself shrink back and a look of confusion mixed with hurt passed his face. "Love what's wrong?" "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

Davy watched with confusion as Vixey scrambled out of bed and cowered in a corner. "Captain, I think she got amnesia," Jacque said. "I can see that. Go get Bootstrap, maybe he can help." Vixey watched as the jellyfish man left, leaving her alone with the one he called Captain. She knew who Davy Jones was but why he had her and why he called her love she had no clue. "Why are you keeping me here?" Davy sighed and crouched down. "Love, I'm not keeping you here. Yer me wife. Look down at yer belly. We be having twins." He watched as she discovered the truth in his words. "How can I be your wife? Davy Jones ripped out his heart because of a woman." "Aye," he sighed, "that be true. But you healed me and got me heart back." "Then why cant I remember it?" Davy sighed. "Ye were thrown off yer feet during a squall and hit yer head on the mast." Vixey seemed to think about that for a minute then nodded. "Ok, that makes sense." "What's the last thing ye remember?" "Putting into port at Tortuga and recruiting a whole new crew. Who decided to mutiny." "Good grief, that's over two years ago." The looked up as the door opened and Bootstrap came in. "Vixey, are ye alright Mate?" "Bill, is that you?" "Aye Mate, so it's true. Ye be having amnesia." "I guess. I don't remember it though," she said with a smile. "Is it true, am I married to Davy Jones?" Bill chuckled as he sat down beside her. "Aye, and your very much in love with him. The whole crew can testify to that. But there's more you've lost but I think we should catch up with the Pearl and talk to Jayde and Silver for that. With the Captain's permission of course." "Aye, make it so Mr. Turner and make it snappy." "What are Silver and Jayde doing on the Pearl?" Davy looked at Bootstrap, knowing that he was going to have to tell her about Jim. "Well, Jayde be there because of Jack. They're in love and have a son together." Vixey grinned at this. "So Jayde and Jack finally got together. Well it's about time. What about Silver, shouldn't he be with Jim? Oh that's right, Jim's dead." "How did ye remember that," Davy said as he led her back to sit on the bed. "I didn't remember, I just knew. I just don't know how he died." "Cutler Beckett killed him. It all happened like this."

She listened as he proceeded to tell her the whole story, starting with Jim's capture and ending with this mornings' storm. "So we share the heart that you ripped out because of Tia Dalma? I'm gonna have to watch my step more often. I remember some of it but I don't remember being married to you." Davy didn't have to say anything, she could see the sadness on his face. "I'm sorry I don't remember it, I want to, but I cant." Vixey felt herself lean forward to lay her hand on Davy's cheek. "I do remember the significance of this though," she said as he turned to face her. "I know it means trust, and I do trust you. I can't explain it but my instinct and my heart says to trust you." "Aye, and ye can trust that I'll never hurt you," Davy said as he laid his hand over the one that was on his cheek.

That night, she chose to sit on the railing of the crows nest. She knew an injury like this would heal itself in time and whether or not she trusted Davy, she didn't think she would get any sleep in the cabin. As she looked down at the deck she could see Davy at the helm, his eyes never straying from her for too long. She could feel the emotions from him and knew this was tearing him apart. It pained her to see him in pain but she didn't think there was anything she could do. It was early morning before she decided to climb down and by that time, Davy had long since gone to bed. As she crept into the cabin, she could see him in bed. She knew he wasn't asleep but he chose to be silent as she nibbled on an apple. "I know you're awake Captain." When that received no response, she decided a more drastic approach. As she bit off a piece of apple, she flicked it in his direction. Davy groaned and sat up as the apple piece hit his forehead with a splat.. "How did ye know?" "I may not remember some things, but my senses are still sharp as ever. We need to talk. I need to know how our marriage came to be." Davy chuckled and motioned for her to sit next to him. "At first, I didn't want anything to do with ye. Ye constantly got on me nerves and back talked me every step of the way. It was when Beckett captured ye that I realized I had feelings for ye. At first I thought it was friendship but as the time went by I realized my feelings went deeper. When ye changed into the beast I thought all hope was lost but when you were finally back in me arms I knew I never wanted to be without ye." The look in his eyes as he told her this made her melt. It sounded so familiar but yet, it wasn't. "Did we wait for our honeymoon?" "Surely, you think better of me then that," he chuckled, "of course we did." The smile that crossed Vixey's face warmed his bones and he found himself wearing a similar one. "It's going to take some time to heal this but it will heal and anything else you can tell me will help the healing process. You have to have faith." "Faith is not something I rely on, but for you I will try. Anything to get my wife back." Vixey felt the tears spring to her eyes at this. She could feel the emotions pouring from him and yet he made no move to express them. She knew he loved her and deep down she knew she felt the same but every time she tried to remember it, everything went black. She barely registered Davy's arm cautiously resting on her waist as she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I want so much to remember everything ." It was then that Davy noticed her unfallen tears and knew that this was affecting her as much as it was him. "It's like ye said Love, you have to have faith," he whispered as he pulled her against his chest.

A month went by and things were starting to get back to normal. Vixey still hadn't remembered everything yet but with the Pearl's arrival, Davy hoped that would change. As he stood at the helm watching Vixey and Jayde play with Lucius, Luke for short, he hoped the child would jog her memory. He didn't even look up as Jack came up behind him. "Lost her memory eh? What caused that mishap?" Davy proceeded to tell him about the storm. "She's remembered bits and pieces but not the fact that we're married much less that we're in love. It was quite a task getting her to understand that we weren't here to hurt her." Jack sighed as he stroked his goatee, "I've seen her hurt in numerous ways, both serious and not so serious but this is the worst so far. But I have faith that she'll heal and be back to normal. Just be patient. I know it's not one of your strong suits, but if ye want her back Mate ye need to try." It felt strange to have Jack Sparrow of all people call him Mate, but he was starting to almost get used to it. He watched in amusement as Luke decided to decorate Vixey's shirtfront with the remains of breakfast. He was amazed when Vixey just shrugged it off and headed to the cabin to clean up. He took this opportunity to catch her alone.

As he walked into the cabin, at first he didn't see her. But he noticed her standing in front of the mirror without her shirt. "What're ye doing Love?" "Just remembering where all my scars came from. I know this one came from when I was thrown off the ship." She trailed off as she caught sight of the scars from the flogging he had ordered Maccus to give her. "You made Maccus give me these when Jimmylegs and I got into it in the Mess hall." "Aye," Davy said as he stood behind her and traced each scar with his tentacled finger. "I regretted it later," he said quietly as he kissed her neck. Vixey's mind was screaming that this was wrong but her body was telling her it was right. It craved his touch and only his and it was making her feel like she was being pulled in two directions. Her mind said to stop him but her body was urging her to continue, almost trembling at the contact. Finally, her mind won the battle and she reluctantly pulled away. "I- I should get back to Jayde."


	22. Faith

Author's note:sorry its a little short but with the Hollidays i dont have much extra time. Hopefully with World's end out on Dvd I will have more inspiration and more time after Christmas

That night was the first time in a long time that the crew heard the pipe organ play its mournful song. Vixey's heart and mind were in a turmoil as she listened to the haunting melody. She had discussed her situation with Jayde who's philosophy was to jump Davy's bones and hope it jogged Vixey's memory. As much as her body wanted it, her mind kept telling her no.

Later that night, found her in the crow's nest. She found that when she was alone and everything around her was quiet she could remember some things about her past. Jayde had mentioned Gathering and little by little it had started to come back to her. By morning light, she remembered everything that had happened at Gathering down to the food and Blaze's attack. But her marriage and anything connected was still a blur. It was almost as if something was blocking it.

Later that night, Vixey awoke and found she was alone in the cabin. She could hear thunder rumbling in the distance and hurriedly dressed to see if she was needed. As she exited the cabin, she noticed that the deck was deserted, save a lone figure at the helm. The smell of a pipe mixed with the sea told her who it was. As she approached him, he made no indication that he had seen her. "Couldn't sleep Love?" His question was one that he had asked her many times. And her answer was usually 'not without you.' But this time she just shook her head. "I heard the storm. Are we in any danger?" "Nay Lass, you ye honestly think I would intentionally steer us into a squall?" "Not unless it suited your purpose." Davy smiled at this. That was the wife he remembered. "Any more memories surface?" "Yes and no. I remember Gathering and how you rescued me. I can remember everything except for things that have to do with our marriage and honeymoon. I just don't get it. Why cant I remember?" "Maybe you don't want to remember." "How can you say that Davy? I would give anything to remember. Maybe you don't want me to remember." "That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. I would do anything to have me wife back and get back to the quasi-normal life we had. I've tried to be patient, but it's not one of me strong points. And ye teasing me the other night didn't help matters." "Me teasing you? I was only changing clothes. You were the one kissing my neck and making me feel all loopy." "Loopy? Is that what they call it now. I can think of a lot more words to call it." "Fine, blame me all you want. OK, so I enjoyed what you were doing are you happy now?" "I'd be happier if things were back to normal around here." As they were arguing, neither one of them noticed the dark cloud overhead nor the first few drops of rain. It was only until both were soaking wet did they realize they were in a storm. "Ye better go below before ye whack yer head on something. Wouldn't want ye to forget everything again." "I wouldn't mind forgetting this conversation ever happened," she spat back, "I think I will go. I have better things to do with my time then to argue with a squish head." She had barely walked past him when his claw hand lashed out and seized her wrist. With a jerk, he pulled her back to him and pinned her against the wheel. He could see the fire blazing in her eyes as she glared at him. Without a word, he descended on her and captured her lips in a crushing kiss.

It all happened so fast, she barely had time to react when the claw grabbed her wrist. After trying unsuccessfully to push him away, she lost herself in the kiss. All of a sudden, her lost memories came crashing over her in a tidal wave and she remembered everything.

Davy was surprised as she began fighting him and then all of a sudden gave up. He thought he was being too rough with her and was about to stop when she pulled him closer and wrapped her legs around his waist.

The rest of the storm went unnoticed as a hurricane of hastily shed clothing decorated the floor around the helm. Finally, as morning came and the sun rose, they retired to their cabin. Maccus came on deck a few hours after they had disappeared. He had made the mistake of coming up before and had gotten an eyeful he wouldn't soon forget. With a sigh, he picked up the discarded clothes and made his way to the cabin. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door.

Vixey's head was pounding as she slowly awakened. Then she realized it wasn't her head and quickly grabbed something to cover herself before making her way to the door. She cracked the door a bit and peered out to see Maccus grinning back at her. "I take it you remembered something," he said as he handed her the stack of clothing. Vixey grinned as she felt her face turn red. "I remembered everything Maccus." "Good, now maybe you and the Captain will be in a better mood." Vixey chuckled as she closed the door and set the pile of clothes on a nearby chair. "And what, pray tell amuses my beautiful wife this morning," came a sleepy voice. "Only the witty banter of your first Mate," she said as she slid under the sheets and spooned against his back. He could feel her breath on the back of his neck as she parted the tentacles there. Her arms came around his torso as her hands rested atop the jagged scar. For a moment they just laid there, feeling their two hearts beating as one. Then Davy voiced the worry that had been plaguing him during the whole amnesia episode. "Something's been bothering me. The whole time ye lost yer memory, you remembered almost everything but our wedding. I kept wondering if it was because ye might somehow regret it." The moment the words left his lips, he found himself violently pulled on his back and Vixey sitting on top of him, face to face. "Now ye listen to me Colin David Jones and ye listen good. I have done a lot of things in my lifetime that I regret, a lot of things I wish to the Gods I had never done. Marrying ye and having yer children is NOT one of them. The day I met ye I knew my life was going to change forever. I didn't know how I knew it, but I knew it would be for the better. There have been harsh words I've said to ye that I regret, but that has been the only thing regarding us that I have ever regretted."

As soon as Davy had gotten over the initial shock of what had just happened he realized just how much she loved him. "I meant nothing by it Love, I was just wonderin why it took so long." "I think it was a test, something to strengthen the bonds of our love. My mother always said that everything happens for a reason." "I think I would have liked her," Davy said as he lazily traced patterns on her back. "But as much as I enjoy lazing about with you, I have duties to attend to." "Aye," she said as she began dressing, "and so do I. I have a feeling Jacques will be glad to have his extra set of hands back, since I know you're not going to let me do anything harder." "Aye, and I'm not sure I'm willing to let ye do that." "Ok, that's fine. I'll just follow you around all day. I mean since you're so protective and all, I'll just make sure I'm always underfoot. That way you know that I'm not in any danger." "I didn't mean it all that way Love," Davy sputtered as he realized she was getting irritated. "Let's get one thing strait Jones. It's not a question of what you're gonna LET me do. I will do as I please when I please. If you don't like it then that too damn bad. You know I would never intentionally do anything to hurt myself or our unborn children." Davy said nothing as she continued to dress, pausing only once when she felt one of the twins move. "I swear, sometimes I think they're rolling cannonballs around in there." Vixey felt her heart melt as Davy placed his hand on her stomach and smiled. "Sure are active today. I think we be having our hands full when they learn to walk." "First things first, they haven't even been born yet. Don't be talking about them walking quite so soon. I don't want them to grow up too fast." "Aye. Well I suppose we should be getting to our duties. I shall see you a bit later Love," Davy said as he pulled her to him for one more kiss before going above deck. Davy still thought it best to at least attempt to be professional around his men, even though most of them liked seeing their Captain act a bit more human. Reluctantly, they ended their kiss and stepped out on deck to go their separate ways for the day.


	23. Back to normal, well kinda

Vixey's day consisted of the lighter duties in the Galley, a task that she found extremely boring. Jacque wouldn't even let her cook. He told her that Captain had promised 50 lashes if she even burned one hair or her body. "So now he thinks I'm hairy," she had replied back. Jacque had only chuckled and continued to stir the pot.

It wasn't until lunch time that she saw Davy again. As soon as she had put the tray down and closed the door, he had wrapped her in his arms. "Your lunch will get cold," she pointed out. But she found that he didn't care much as he carried her to the bed. "I'll not have me wife go the rest of the day without knowing how much she is appreciated and loved." "The only way you are getting me to stay off my feet all day is to stay in here with me, which we both know ain't gonna happen." He had been complaining all day about her on her feet, ever the worry wart of a new father to be. "I haven't seen ye all day, lets not start fighting," Davy said as he pulled her shirt up to expose her belly. Vixey watched with a loving gleam in her eyes as Davy kissed each side of her belly and started talking to their unborn children. If his enemies could see him, she doubted they would quake in fear. It surprised her every time how gentle he could be when he was with her instead of his normal harsh self when he was on deck or in battle. Davy caught her gaze and had tried to pull back but found that his tentacles were lazily caught in her hair. With a sheepish grin she carefully untangled herself and watched the calmness in Davy's eyes as he lay over her. Time seemed to stand still as the pair became as one. It wasn't long after that they drifted off to sleep, wrapped in the cocoon of their love.

Vixey awoke to an empty cabin as the sun began to set. She had no idea how long Davy had been gone but the space beside her was beginning to cool. She smiled as one of the twins kicked against her ribs and flipped around. She laid a hand on her protruding belly as she thought about their previous activities. Making love with the Sea Devil was different each time and it amazed her that the two of them had created not one life but two with the power of their love. She knew that Faylon had told him she could breed with anything. But what he hadn't told him was that she had to want to be able to get pregnant. It wasn't enough to sleep with someone. If that were the case, well she didn't want to think about how many children she would have had. Finally, she sighed and got dressed. There was only so much time she could spend in bed alone.

Davy was at the helm, thinking similar thoughts about their lovemaking when he saw the person of his desire making her way across the deck. He involuntary tensed up as she got a little close to the rail in his opinion but reminded himself that she could swim and Neko was circling around. She seemed to be deep in thought as she made her way to where Bootstrap and Clanker were playing Liar's Dice. She never had enjoyed the game, seeing no point to it but lately she found herself watching it played. It seemed like hours went by as crewmember after crewmember came by, played, and left. When she looked up again, it was late afternoon. In the distance, she could see something large on the horizon. "Ship ahoy," Penrod shouted from the crow's nest. Vixey could feel the anticipation as the crew readied to board. She made her way to the helm where Davy was waiting to get closer. "Ye know ye are to remain on board?" "Yes Dear. I was prepared to fight but I realized that you would fight me tooth and nail to not fight and frankly, I don't have the strength or the patience for two battles. I'll stay in the cabin and out of harm's way." "Thank ye," he whispered, "I would be lost if something happened to ye." As they got close enough to the ship to teleport, Vixey leaned up to give Davy a quick peck on the cheek but at the last second his head turned and she found herself locked in one of the most passionate kisses the crew had ever seen.

After what seemed like eternity, Vixey was vaguely aware of someone behind them clearing their throat. "Ahem, orders Captain?" Vixey looked behind them to see Maccus looking very uncomfortable. "Mr. Maccus, prepare to board and inform Clanker and Bootstrap they will be staying behind to guard my wife." "Aye Captain," Maccus said as he left to carry out his orders. But as soon as he was out of earshot, Vixey doubled over with laughter. "I swear, he always seems to catch us. I think the poor man was blushing." Davy spared a chuckle as he cupped her face in his hands. "I shall return soon. Please stay out of trouble." "Oh you're no fun," Vixey said as she pretended to pout. Vixey watched him disappear and then in a second reappear on the deck of the other ship and join in the battle.

Somewhere in the middle of battle, a storm had broken and Vixey had retreated with Bootstrap to her quarters. It was some time later when she heard the tell tale sounds of the crew returning. She had started to head above deck when the door to the cabin was kicked open and Davy appeared carrying a small bundle. Bootstrap made an excuse about helping with the cargo and left. Vixey eyed Davy with confusion. "What was that about?" "Do ye think I have gone soft since I found out I was to be a father?" "I think it affected the way you think about certain things. But gone soft, no. Why do ye ask Love?" Without a word, he unwrapped the bundle to reveal a tiny baby with a sprinkling of light brown hair. "Seems there had been a mutiny. Her father was already dead when we got there. Her mother was dyeing and begged me to take the baby to her sister in Port Royal." "That doesn't make ye soft Love," Vixey whispered as she carefully took the sleeping baby from Davy's arms, "That just makes ye human."

Davy's heart soared as he heard this. He had expected her to understand but not as much as this. To call him human was more then he could fathom. Vixey's voice broke through his musings. "What's her name?" "Her mother called her Emma. I suppose we should continue calling her that until we get to Port Royal." "Aye, but one question. How will we return her when we get there? I mean, you can't go ashore and as much as I trust the crew, I wouldn't leave this to them. I suppose I could go." "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we must find something to feed her." "Well I'm not exactly lactating at the moment and since she doesn't have any teeth what would you suggest?" "Well, we did find a goat on board, perhaps that would work." "Ok, you have two options. You can either go milk the goat or you can hold the baby while I milk the goat."

Davy suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "Um Love, I've never milked a goat and I don't think I could with one hand. I could get one of the crew to milk the goat." Vixey walked to the door and opened it enough to stick her head through. "Any of you know how to milk a goat?" When the last "no" was heard, she closed the door and shot him an 'I told you so' look. "Ok Mr. Know- It-All, now what?" With a sigh, he held out his arms and carefully took the baby. Vixey smiled as she picked up a bucket and headed out the door. "I'll be right back."

As she headed on deck, she passed Koleniko. He smelled awful. "Um is there a particular reason you smell like the latrines?" "Cuz I was cleaning the Captain's and I tripped on something and fell in." Vixey tried with little success not to laugh. "So let me get this strait. You fell in Davy Jones' Potty?" When Koleniko refused to answer, she shook with laughter all the way down to the cargo hold.


	24. Discovery,Irritation,and Emotions OH My

After milking the goat and heading back above deck, she passed Koleniko, Clanker and Maccus and couldn't suppress a giggle. She was still giggling as she entered the cabin. She could see Davy sitting on the bed with the infant and couldn't help but smile at the picture he made. "Shh, ye'll wake her. What be so funny anyway," Davy asked as he set the baby in one of the two matching cribs they had found on a raid. Vixey had been speechless when the crew had brought them on board and Davy for once, had smiled on deck. He did more then smile when she told him about Koleniko's accident. "I'll have to remember that one."

For the next few days, Davy found out what it was like to have an infant around. He found that where the baby was concerned, he was a light sleeper and didn't mind getting up in the middle of the night. But there were a few concerns that he wondered if he would have to go through with his own offspring. For instance, he realized that they couldn't submerge the Dutchman and wondered if his children would breathe water like their parents. Vixey had assured him that all of her kind were born with gills but they would have to be taught how to use them. He also wondered if they would be human like he once was or tentacled like he was now. Or if they would take after their mother. Vixey just hoped they would have Davy's eyes, she didn't worry about anything else.

In what seemed like too short a time, they arrived at Port Royal. Davy had finally agreed that she would be the best choice to take Emma to her Aunt Pauline. Under the cover of night, with the address in her pocket and the goat in tow, she headed into town. Davy had watched from the Dutchman as Maccus had rowed them to shore and then hidden himself. As Vixey got out of sight he sighed, feeling a bit empty with his wife on land and the baby he had come to care for on her way to her new home. He was surprised that he could admit to himself that he cared for the infant.

As Vixey made her way through the dark streets, she shivered at the cold night wind and pulled her cloak tighter around them. She could hear people laughing in the distance and cats fighting in the alley. It reminded her why she preferred to live at sea. Too much noise in a large city would keep her up at night and she hated the sound of the country. Her musings were interrupted when she realized she had passed the house twice. With a heavy heart, she knocked on the door.

The woman that answered the door looked exactly like the description Davy had given of the child's mother. "May I help you?" "Are you Pauline?" The woman frowned at Vixey's casual use of her name but made no attempt to protest. "Yes, may I help you?" "My husband is a Captain and during a storm we came across a vessel that had been attacked by pirates. He found your sister on the verge of death and she made him promise to deliver a very precious package to you." At this, she unwrapped her cloak to reveal the baby. "Emma? Oh thank goodness. Please come in." "No, I can't. My husband and I have a previous engagement elsewhere and we must set sail immediately. I also brought the goat we have been milking to feed Emma. I didn't know if you needed it or not but we have no room for it." "Of course, thank you very much. I must repay you somehow." "Just take care of her, that's all I ask." Pauline smiled as Vixey handed her the baby. "Thank you Mrs.?" "Jones. Goodbye Emma," Vixey whispered as she laid a gentle kiss on the baby's forehead. Without another word, Vixey pulled her cloak around her and headed back to the boat.

Maccus was getting worried when he saw Vixey heading towards him. "What took ye so long?" "Just take me home Maccus." "Are ye alright?" "No, but I will be as soon as I'm back aboard the Dutchman and in my husband's arms. I felt like I was giving up my own child." Maccus didn't know what to say to her. Finally, he said, "it was what was best for her. She's back with her family." "Aye, you're right. Family is what's most important. The Dutchman is a family, a weird , twisted and sometimes sadistic family but a family none the less." Maccus said nothing at this as they boarded the Dutchman.

Davy could hardly contain himself as the longboat came into sight. He had been keeping a track on Vixey's emotions since she had left and found that he was feeling the same way. As she boarded the Dutchman, she glanced around until her sight turned on him and she gave him a slight smile and a look that told him to meet her in the cabin.

As he walked in, he could see her sitting at the vanity, just staring off into space. She had an almost forlorn look on her face. As he came up behind her and put his arms around her, she stiffened in surprise then relaxed when she realized who it was. "Well, she's back with her family." "Aye," Davy said as he gathered her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. "Were they glad to see her?" "Yes, and I think her mother and aunt were twins. Her aunt looked just like you said her mother looked. I told her that my husband had found her. She said to tell you thank you." Davy said nothing at this and for a moment Vixey thought he didn't hear her but the look in his eyes said otherwise. "Not many people thank the Devil of the Sea," he finally said as he set her gently on the bed laid behind her. For some reason, he just needed to hold her and he realized the feeling was mutual. "How could we do it," Vixey finally said. "Do what?" "Leave her there? I know that's her family but this woman looked like she had no experience with children. I know she didn't have any of her own." "How do ye know this?" "Her hips weren't wide. Usually after a woman has a child her hips get a little wider." "Love, she will be ok." "I know, but why does it feel like I abandoned my own daughter?" Davy said nothing at this, he knew exactly how she felt.

The next morning found both of them in better spirits. That is of course until Vixey found out where they were headed. "I don't want to go to my island. What's there other then Jim's grave that I need? I trust that you have everything like it should be. I've grieved all I'm gonna grieve." "It will give you closure," Davy said as he stood at the helm. "Who pulled your string? I don't need to grieve, I don't need closure, what I need is for everyone to stop thinking they know what's best for me and let me be." A passing seagull chose that particular moment to poop on her shoulder, which everyone found hilarious. "Oh yeah, that's right. Laugh at the pregnant lady. Need I remind you who helps Jacque with the cooking?" The silence was almost deafening. "That shut you up didn't it? I can threaten bodily harm on the whole crew and no one bats an eye but threaten to mess with your food and suddenly I have everyone's undivided attention." Davy was beginning to get tired of her ranting and was about to say something when she whipped around and glared at him. "Don't even think about it. Now unless someone else wants to tell me what's best for me, I'm going to check on Neko." With that she jumped over the side and sank beneath the water. The crew looked at Davy with a bewildered look on their faces and found that he was wearing a similar one. "Well Lads, looks like we got our hands full with this one. Bootstrap!" Immediately Bill was at his side, "Aye Captain?" "Keep an eye on her and see if ye can talk to her. Find out what's bothering her." "Aye Captain."

Vixey had expected Davy to come after her but she found out that was not the case. AS Bootstrap settled on the sand beside her, he could see something was bothering her. "Alright Mate, what's buggin ya?" Vixey chuckled. "Quite frankly, that was a mood swing but I think I got a little more attached to the baby then I thought I did. It felt like I was giving up my own child." "Aye, but ye didn't give her up. Ye reunited her with her family." Vixey's next sentence was forgotten as Neko flew past her, ruffling her hair. He raced back around until he was staring nose to nose with her and keened once. He knew how she felt and was telling her it was ok. "Thanks Mate," she said as she stroked his forehead, "I think that's all I needed."

Davy stared at the spot where Vixey had jumped. He realized he should have been the one to go after her and was about to, when two heads broke the waters surface.

Vixey had said nothing as she walked past the crew and into her cabin. Bootstrap reported what she had told him and Davy decided to follow up on it. As he entered the cabin, Vixey's back was to him as she wrung out her clothes and hung them to dry. It reminded him of the first day she came aboard. The scars had faded a bit but they were still there. "Do ye have a fish in yer shoe this time," Davy said as she tipped the water out of her boots. "Nope, got lucky this time." She was silent for a moment as she looked into his icy blue eyes that were full of concern. "I'm sorry for my little fit. I hope ye can forgive me," she finally said. "Love, I know ye can't help it sometimes and if ye don't want to go I wont make ye." "No, she sighed, "you're right. I do need to go. And you can go with me this time." "But Love, I've already been ashore. Remember Dead Man's Cove?" Vixey blushed at the mention of the cove. Boy did she remember that place, not to mention the sand that stuck to everything. She couldn't remember how long it took her to shake the sand out of their clothing. "I know, but I had a thought. We could get the crew to put a big bucket of water up on the hill top and I could fly you up there and put you in the bucket. That is of course, if you want to go." Davy shuddered at the memory of the last time he had been in a bucket of water on dry land, but this time it was his choice. And it did mean a lot to her. "If it wont put any strain on you or the children then I'll do it." The smile on Vixey's face erased any qualms he had about the bucket.

On the way to the island, they came across a shipwreck. Vixey watched as the crew prepared to board, but this time there was something in the air. As Davy watched from the helm, he could see Vixey start his way. By the look on her face he knew something was up, something he wasn't going to like. "I need to go with you this time," Vixey said as she stood shoulder to shoulder with him. "Absolutely not." Vixey's eyebrow raised in what he hoped was amusement. "I wasn't asking you, I was telling you. Besides, it's safe." Davy pondered her words for a moment. "Alright, we will go over first then I will send someone back to get you." "Or I could go when you go." "No," Davy said as he felt the starting of a headache, "While I trust you feelings I would rather you be safe. You will wait for someone to come get you." "And when you get back you can sleep by yourself. How about this. You could send the thought back and I could fly over there. Davy sighed, he realized he wasn't going to win this one. "You win, Love." Vixey smiled and as he walked behind her to prepare to board, she quickly turned and playfully swatted his rear. Hadras, who had been at the helm but stepped back when Vixey had arrived, chuckled slightly and shook his head, almost dislodging it. Swearing in Cantonese he struggled to right it on his shoulders before following the Captain.

Davy gave one last look at Vixey, who was trying not to laugh, before shaking his head in amusement and teleporting to the other ship. As he arrived, he could see that most of the occupants were either dying or already dead. They did a quick sweep of the ship and gathered the remaining passengers before heading into the Captain's quarters.

Vixey felt Davy's almost urgent thought for her to board. As she spread her wings and jumped into the wind, she could feel her spirits soar and her heart got lighter. It was annoying not to fly whenever she wanted but she had to save her energy for necessary flights. Teleporting made her nauseous, a fact that Davy found out the hard way.

As she landed on deck, she could see the boarding party gathered around something. At the head of the party stood Davy, glaring at something Vixey couldn't see. As she made her way to him, she could see he was staring at the steps leading to the helm. "What's wrong?" "That is what is wrong," Davy said as he pointed at the steps. On closer inspection Vixey could see a small shape under the steps. Vixey moved closer to see that it was a young girl. She appeared to be between 3 and 5 with long blonde hair that was streaked with dirt. She was shaking in fear and as Vixey got closer she began to sob quietly. "Shh, no one's going to hurt you little one." Vixey crouched down as far as she could and edged closer. "Come on honey, I'm not going to hurt you." Vixey watched as the girl glanced at Davy with wide eyes and then back at her. "He's not going to hurt you either," Vixey soothed as the child inched closer to her. Finally, the girl launched herself into Vixey's arms. Davy looked worried for a moment and Vixey knew what was on his mind. He was afraid their children would be afraid of him. "She's scared to death, is there anyone left?" "Aye, but they be too far gone." Vixey knew his famous "Do you fear death" speech was coming soon and she'd rather not be here for that. "Can they at least talk?" "Aye. I'll find out something. You just get back to the ship." Vixey smiled at him and sent a thought that said how much she loved and appreciated him. The thought that Davy sent back was almost identical. Then she faced the problem. How to get back to the ship. She didn't want to traumatize the child any further so flying was out. Finally she sighed, " Hadras can you take me back to the ship?" Hadras looked at her like she had grown two heads. "Aye sure? I mean I don't mind but I thought it made ye sick." "It does but I think flying would scare her more and I don't want that." "Alright, hold on." Vixey concentrated on anything else but the nauseating feelings as they teleported back to the Dutchman. "I need to get back to the Captain." "Ok, thanks, and please tell him if he can find any of her things to bring them. I know we don't have any clothes to fit a little girl and I was hoping I could get her in a bath."


	25. Cat's background and A little mischief

Hello again...i know its been a while since my last update but hey i think it was worth the wait...anyway with my new Davy Jones Plush glaring at me, i found the inspiration for this little update. lol the things u can find on EBAY ;) anyway without further ado, here is the next chapter…

It was some time later when Davy and the rest of the crew were able to come back. They had gathered everything that looked like it could have belonged to the girl and whatever they could use for supplies. As he made his way to the cabin, Hadras stood at the door. "I wouldn't go in there if I were ye, Vixey be giving the child a bath and it wasn't easy. The child be afraid of water." Davy sighed as he carefully entered the cabin. He noticed that the clothes they had found the child in were clean and hanging up to dry. He could hear the sounds Vixey humming softly and of water splashing. The privacy screen which was normally in the corner was in the middle of the room. "Love, are ye alright," he asked as he headed towards the screen. As he came around the screen he could see the girl, neck deep in bubbles. She looked as though she had been scrubbed from head to toe and her hair had been washed. Vixey stood at the girl's head, gently brushing the tangles out of the golden strands. "So this be the pretty young girl that was disguised as a bilge rat," Davy said quietly as he tried his best to smile at the girl. The girl said nothing as she stared at Davy with interest, but Davy could see the fear still there. "Don't be worrying wee one, I wont hurt ye." As he looked at Vixey, he noticed her wince a bit. "Love, are ya alright?" "I'm fine, its just that the twins have been doing back flips since we teleported back over here. Other then that, I'm fine." Davy breathed a sigh of relief and then turned back to the child. "Have we gotten a name out of her yet?" "Cat," the child said. Davy stared in disbelief. "The angel speaks," he chuckled, "I guess that means she's warming up to me."

Vixey spent the rest of the day getting to know about the child from both Davy and Cat herself. Cat had told Vixey that her mother was on her way to find her child's father when they had been attacked by pirates. She had hidden Cat in the Captain's quarters and then left to find a hiding place for herself. Davy had filled in the rest. The pirates had found her and Vixey could figure out the rest. As Cat spoke, Vixey could see something in the girl's eyes and the way that she moved that was so familiar. It almost reminded Vixey of how she looked when she had held her human form for too long. But she hadn't sense anything from the child that would suggest she was hiding anything. "Cat, who was your father," Vixey finally said. "I- I don't know. My mother said his name was Radix but she didn't say anything else." At the mention of Radix, bells went off in Vixey's mind. "I'll bet you're tired. Why don't you go lie down for a while." "I'm not tired," she yawned. But she reluctantly let Vixey tuck her into bed and in minutes she was fast asleep. Vixey said nothing as she grabbed a bit of paper and wrote something down before rolling it up and headed above deck.

Davy quickly followed behind her as she raced above deck. "Love? What be goin on?" "I'm sending word to the council for the records. If she is a daughter of Radix they will know." "So ye know him then?" "Aye, I grew up with him. He's Blaze's brother, the only male member of the family I got along with." Finally, she stopped and raised her hands over her head. Davy felt a hard wind pick up then it died down before stopping completely. Before Davy could ask anything, there was a squawk as Nibblet landed on Vixey's shoulder. "Take this directly to the council and tell them I want an answer as soon as possible." As Nibblet flew off, Davy felt a sense of sadness radiating from Vixey's general direction. "What be the matter Mrs. Jones?" His heart leapt a bit as she smiled at his use of her legal name. "Every time you call me that, it just makes me feel so special, like I finally found my place. As for what's wrong, well, no one's seen Radix for years. He lives with the shame of his family and refuses to see anyone. I can't say I blame him though." "What ye be saying is that ye don't know if this child be good news for him or not?" "Exactly, and with no mother, if he doesn't want her then we'll have to keep her. There's no way I'm letting her stay with the rest of Blaze's family." "Aye, I see. Would that be so bad for us to keep her?" Vixey smiled and shook her head. "I'm glad to hear you say that. I adore her. I just wish I could get her to let go of her human form. I know it's uncomfortable." "So are all of your kind born with knowing how to change?" "No, they have to be taught." "Then perhaps she doesn't know how." The thought had crossed Vixey's mind and with her goal in mind, she set off to find Cat.

She found her target with Koleniko, whom she had taken a shine to, below deck. He was showing her how to tie knots. She smiled and watched the pair for a minute, hating to interrupt their bonding, before making her presence know. "I see you have a shadow, Niko," Vixey said using her pet name for him. "Aye, she reminds me of my sister at this age. Ye don't think the Captain will have a problem, do ye?" "Not as long as it doesn't interfere with your duties. But in any case I would like it if you would come with me, Cat. We have much to discuss." Cat looked at Niko, unwilling to leave her companion but she was curious as to what Vixey wanted. As she left the hold, she promised Niko she would come back as soon as she could.

Vixey had thought about the best place to talk to Cat and knew the Crow's nest would be best. It would be high and private. With Cat's arms holding tightly around her neck, she scampered up the mast. Davy had caught the tail end of Vixey's climb and was about to voice his opinion when Vixey's voice in his mind reassured him that she knew what she was doing. As they sat there Vixey fought for the words, not sure how to start this conversation. "Have you ever had the feeling you were different, Cat?" Cat looked at her as if she had sprouted another head. "What do you mean?" "Well, I'm not human so I'm different and Niko and the rest of the crew aren't really human anymore. Did your mother tell you anything about your father other then his name?" Cat paused, as if trying to hold in a secret. "She told me he was a monster," she said quietly. Vixey carefully gathered the child in her arms and tilted her head to look up into her eyes. "Do I look like a monster to you?" Cat shook her head. "Mother said that my father was a monster with the devil inside him. That he hurt her and that's how I came to be." "If your father is who I think he is, she's wrong. Your father is a lot of things, monster is not one of them. Pain in my tail, yes, a good friend definitely, but never a monster or devil. Maybe he hid what he really was. Or maybe your mother was just angry that he left. But it wasn't his fault. His father and brother are cruel sadistic beings and your father didn't want to live with it. He left his home when he was very young and set out to see the world. When he got tired of seeing it, he tried to go home." "What happened?" "His father threatened to kill his mother if he didn't leave. It wasn't long after that, his father and brothers raided a village and did terrible things to the people that lived in it. When he got word about what was done, he hid in shame from the world. He barely lets me around him. I cant blame him. Your father can be one of the most gentle beings I know. But anyway, we're getting off the subject of why I brought you up here. Do you feel like something's not right?" "Sometimes, I feel like my skin wants to burst open and let something out. It scares me sometimes." "I think I know why you feel that way. I think you are like me and your father. Your true form is bursting to be let loose. Do you want to let it out?" "I don't know, I think so. But how do I do it?" "First you breathe deeply and relax your body. Imagine that you have a latch that keeps your wing closed. Can you see it?" "I-I think so." "Good," Vixey sighed. This was the hardest part to teach, "Now imagine that latch opening and let your wings be free." Vixey watched as the child's features relaxed and a pair of small gray wings sprouted from her back. With the wings came a long slender gray tail and jet black horns. Cat's eyes changed from baby blue to a grayish blue. Her hair grew longer and thicker but stayed the same shade of blonde. With the transformation complete, an unconscious Cat sank to the floor. Vixey remembered her first change all too well. She slept for a day, then ate like a horse when she awoke. Cradling the sleeping child in her arms, she spread her wings and gracefully soared to the deck. Davy let out a breath he didn't know he had held and followed his wife into their cabin. "So what now?" Vixey laid Cat carefully on her bed and covered her up before heading back on deck. "Now, we wait. It could be a day or two before she wakes and she will be ravenous when she does. In the meantime we head to my island, do what needs to be done and wait until the council sends word." "I mean to ask how they would know who she belongs to?" "Normally in a question of paternity we send a scale but since she didn't have any scales yet I sent a lock of hair. The council will know soon."

Two days later found them in the harbor of Vixey's island. To her surprise, Silver was already there and had started to rebuild the house. Vixey could see he hadn't slept much and she doubted if he had eaten in a few days. He was passed out on the beach when the longboat went ashore. She clucked her tongue at him before dumping a bucket of water on him. "What the blazes, I'll keelhaul the blighter who," he stopped in mid sentence as he caught sight of Vixey. "Well Mate, finally came home eh?" "My second home anyway. John what's happened to ye?" "Ye know damn well what's happened to me. If'n ye weren't with squid ye'd be doing it too." "Funny, real funny John. But thanks for building the house back. I take it ye be looking to live in it?" "For a while anyway, if that was alright with ye?" "I'm not gonna live in it, someone might as well. And ye did build it, twice." "I've been keeping up with the hillside too," Silver said quietly. Vixey nodded but otherwise said nothing. She wasn't looking forward to going up there just yet, but she figured, she might as well get it over with. She noticed the crew had already hauled a large bucket of seawater up the hill. She watched as Niko and Cat flew by them, Cat on his back shrieking with joy. The crew had taken very well to Cat's new look and she was getting the hang of changing back and forth. Silver caught sight of the child and raised his eyebrow at Vixey. "Been shopping in Tortuga again?" "We found her on a shipwreck. Her mother was dead and her father is supposed to be Radix." Silver's eyes went wide. "Blaze's brother Radix?" "You know any other?" Silver sighed, "ye know I don't like ye anywhere close to his family, but as long as it's just Radix and not the rest of the family I think it will be alright." "Nice to know I have your permission," Vixey said; her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I only worry, as does yer husband, for yer safety." "I noticed. For the past few months everyone's been treating me like I'm made of glass. Davy about had kittens when I started teaching Cat how to fly." Silver roared with laughter at this. "Speaking of yer other half, I think I'll go say Hi. I'll see ye later Mate." "Ok, if anyone needs me, I'll be in the lagoon under the waterfall."

For the first time in months, Vixey found herself completely alone. As much as she loved everyone around her, it was nice to be alone for a change. As she shed her clothes and dove into the pool under the waterfall, the cool water soothed her skin and refreshed her tired body. She decided while she was there to rinse out her clothes. She thought briefly about flying naked and as exhilarating as it sounded, she knew it would get her into a lot of trouble. At one time, modesty meant very little to her people. You wore clothes if you were cold. It wasn't until humans came along did they find the need for them. She dismissed the idea with a sigh and spread her clothes out to dry on a rock.

Davy had enjoyed his chat with Silver but chit chat was new to him. Sensing Davy was running out of things to talk about, Silver had excused himself to continue working on the house. Now, Davy's current task was to find his wife. With his power of teleportation, he wasn't limited to just the ocean but any body of water so it was easy transport himself into the lagoon. Surfacing, he spotted Vixey floating facedown a few feet away. He started to panic but stopped when he remembered she had gills. He wondered why she was floating face down until he caught sight of her clothes drying on a rock and realized it was for modesty's sake. While he knew her kind wasn't shy, he knew that she knew he would be livid at the prospect of someone walking up on her and seeing her au natural. As he got closer she rolled over on her back and he submerged. Grinning from ear to ear, he hovered under her and lightly tickled her back. When all she did was grumble and swat under her, he tickled harder and added a light poke. All of a sudden, she disappeared. Davy waited for a minute and when she didn't come back, he surfaced to see where she had gone. As he broke the surface and looked around, he failed to notice the shadow that kept getting bigger. All of a sudden he felt something solid hit his head and he found himself being dragged under.

Vixey saw the surprise register on his face until he saw her. "Ye be playing a dangerous game Missy." "I should hope so," she coyly replied as she leaned forward to kiss her husband. He had shed his everything but his pants by this time and Vixey couldn't help but to touch his chest. She had made it a habit since the incident with Blaze for some reason to touch his chest every time he bared it. Now, she found, was no different as she ran her fingers across the large scar. "What are ye thinking about Love," Davy asked as he felt her touch. "The last time I swam here. Jim was about 10, right before he went to sea with his dad. This was one of his favorite spots on the island." She found herself unable to continue as the grief finally caught up with her. Davy held her as she wept openly before screaming in anger and hurt until finally she had exhausted herself and had fallen asleep in his arms. Carefully gathering her and their clothes in his arms, he teleported back to their cabin and told Hadras to inform Silver of their location. With that done, he laid her on the bed and fell in beside her. For a while he watched her sleep but it wasn't too long before she whimpered and turned to cling to him. Drawing her as tightly as he dared, he wrapped his arms around her and chuckled as he felt one of the twins kick him. Finally, sleep claimed him.

When Vixey awoke, she found herself tangled in a mess of tentacles and held tight against a hard wall of muscle. Smiling to herself, she snuggled into his chest and kissed the scar she found there. "I'm a lucky woman", she whispered as he opened his eyes. "Most husbands will carry their wives to bed, I would hope, if she fell asleep in their arms." "Not that, although I suppose it is a better alternative then being left under the waterfall," she teased. "I just meant that you could have put me in here and went back to what you were doing but you know me well enough that you knew I would need you." Davy smiled and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "In that case Mrs. Jones, I am one lucky man. You see past the tentacles and see the man underneath. Despite my moods and general crabbiness, you're always here for me, with me. I never had that with her. I dread to think what will happen when she does decide to take her revenge." "I was thinking about that. I don't think she will try to hurt us directly. I think she's gonna go after the twins. And may the Great Dragon have mercy on her if she does, because I won't." Davy saw the fierce look in her eyes. "I believe ye Love. But what do ye suppose we do about it?" "Well, since she's less powerful on land, I was thinking maybe give birth on Drakel Island. It is said that all that are born there are protected and we could rig something up for you so you don't miss out. I don't know. I'm just worried for our children." Before Davy could say anything else, there was a knock at the door. "Who is it," he called irritated that someone would have the nerve to interrupt them. "It's Jayde, cover up cuz I'm comin in!" "We're decent," Vixey called back. Jayde stomped in with a irritated look on his face. "Would you two knock it off already, you're already knocked up with twins." "OK," Vixey said with a sigh, "what did Jack do or say now?" "Damn you know me too well. He's talking about more kids." "And? I thought you always wanted a big family." "I do, just not on a boat. It was hell on me the last few weeks I was pregnant and Jack wont leave the sea." "Hun," Vixey sighed as she began to dress, " You know as well as I do that the call of the sea is too great for Jack Sparrow to leave it for long, even for someone he loves." "I know and I don't want him to leave completely just for a few weeks so we can get Lucius accustomed to land. All he knows is the sea." "And? You're a mermaid in case you forgot and that's pretty much all you know?" Davy had stayed silent throughout the conversation but he decided to add his two cents in. "Lass, I think Sparrow be afraid that his son might like land much better the sea. How is the wee one on a ship?" "He loves it, I cant keep him out of the rigging or the crow's nest or anywhere else that's dangerous." "That's normal child. Trust me, when they learn to crawl you wont have a moments peace after. And when he learns to walk and run, well you wont lack for exercise. Look, I'll talk to Jack. Why don't the two of you row out into the lagoon and catch some fish or something." Davy gave her a quizzical look at this. "That way Jack won't think that you put me up to it." Davy sighed and nodded before turning to Jayde Go get the poles while I get dressed."

An hour later Davy had decided that this wasn't such a good idea. He had caught only a few small ones while Jayde had a huge pile beside her. "Is that the best fish you can catch Davy? I thought you were the sea," Jayde teased. "Oh blow me tentacles," Davy growled. A few minutes later they gave up and headed for shore. Davy of course couldn't touch land but Jayde hopped out as they hit the shallows and carried the fish in the house. As Davy scanned the beach for Vixey, he heard a loud thump and then someone cursing loudly in Cantonese. He looked to see Hadras scrambling after his head as it rolled down the hill. As he studied the scene further, he saw Vixey on the roof glaring in Hadras' direction trying not to laugh. "Hey shell head, next time hand me what I ask for, not tell me what I should be using. And you better bring back my hammer!" As he watched, trying to debate whether to tell her to get down, he spotted Jack heading his way. "Do I even want to know what that's about," he said jerking his head in the direction to his wife. "She asked him to hand her the hammer and he told her that she needed to be using a different one. Then he told her not to use so much pitch. The last straw was him telling her that she should have used a different kind of wood. She's in a particular mood today isn't she Mate?" "Aye, somethin' be vexin' her today Lad," Davy said as he lit his pipe. Truth be told, if someone had told him in a few years Jack Sparrow would call him Mate and have a normal conversation with him, he would have fed him to the Kraken. "I briefly toyed with the idea of tellin her she should be on the roof but I like me extendin extremities where they be." "Aye, that be smart methinks," Jack said as he tugged at his beard. He never though in a millions years he and Davy Jones would ever agree on anything.

Vixey had a reason to be irritated. After her talk with Jack, Nibblet had delivered word from the council. It turned out that the hair sample of Cat's hair proved her to be Radix's daughter but they had also received word from him that he didn't want anything to do with her or anyone else. Normally requests like that were honored as was the law but being Elder had its perks. She knew she wasn't gonna tell Cat but what could she do. After carefully climbing down from the roof, she headed back to the ship to find Davy. As she came on deck, she found Davy and Jack deep in a discussion. Neither of them acknowledged her presence but she felt Davy's recognition towards her. Smiling, she headed to their quarters and rid herself of her work clothes that had suddenly become very itchy. She dug up one of Davy's shirts and wrapped herself in it. She could smell his scent all over it, the smell of his pipe tobacco mixed with the sea. She was lost in the smell when Davy walked in and found her. "So this is what ye do in yer spare time, eh?" "Yes smart ass, I just lay around smelling your laundry all day. Like I haven't caught you in my underwear drawer." "That was only the one time, and I told ye I was looking for something." "Uh huh, sure. And I suppose I just happened to loose 4 pairs of underwear the next day." By this time he had figured out she was teasing and moved forward enough so that he could wrap his arms around her. "Bad news," he finally said. "Good news and bad news. She is Radix's daughter but he doesn't want anything to do with her or anyone. Ever since his brother tried to kill him a few years ago he's been paranoid and doesn't want anyone near him. As is the law and as he is a silent member of the council, normally his wishes would be followed." "But since you be the Elder, they won't," he finished. "Bingo. He's got another think coming if he thinks he can order me around. I can't make him want anything to do with his daughter but I can make him listen to me." "As soon as you're ready we can leave, that is of course after you go and visit Jim." Vixey started to tell him not to order her around but she realized she would have to face it sooner or later. She decided that now was as good a time as any and started to dress.


	26. The history of Drakel and Merfolk

_A few minutes later found the at the top of the hill. Davy didn't look very happy about being placed in his bucket but Vixey knew, as she landed beside him on the hill, that he was doing it for her. Jim's final resting place was just as she had wanted it. A bare patch of earth surrounded by conch shells, Jim's favorite, and a large wooden cross with Jim's full name, his dates of birth and death and his favorite saying carved on it. "I would rather die on my feet then live on my knees," Vixey said as she touched the carvings. "It's beautiful John," she told Silver as he stopped to stand beside her. "Only the best for me boy," Silver said as he threw and arm around her shoulders. "Did ye carve the little dragons on it as well," Davy asked as he ran a finger across the wood. "No, Jim did that himself a few months before. Just something he started and never finished. I thought it only fitting." Nothing more was said as the mourning parents each said a silent prayer before the three of them headed back down the hill. Davy glanced back to see that the places in the dirt around the grave Vixey had touched were now sprouting various tropical flowers. He started to say something then thought better of it and concentrated on the exhilarating feeling of flying on his wife's back._

_A few hours later, night was beginning to fall and Davy had the crew rushing around gathering supplies. They would leave in the morning to find Cat's father. As Davy made his rounds, he noticed that Vixey was no where to be found. He searched the whole ship and even under water before he thought to look on the Pearl. As soon as he appeared on deck, he could feel her presence. He couldn't help but chuckle as the crew scrambled to get out of his way. As he approached the Captain's quarters he could hear giggling on the other side of the door. As he walked in, he could see Jack, Jayde and Lucius laying on the bed surrounding Vixey. All three of them had their ears pressed to Vixey's stomach and as he watched, her stomach shook and the two women began giggling. "Well, what be all this then," Davy said as he raised an eyebrow. "I told Jayde how the twins wrestled sometimes at night so loud I could hear them and Jack and Lucius walked in and being Sparrow men, had to be nosey." "Hey," Jack and Lucius said at the same time. "Hay is the first step in horseshi-," Vixey started before Jayde clapped a hand over her mouth. "It's bad enough living with a bunch of pirates and trying to keep Lucius from having a sailor mouth. I don't need his Aunt adding to it." Vixey knew she was just having some fun with her so she didn't take her too seriously. "How long will ye be staying here," Davy asked as he scooted next to Vixey. "Well, truth be told we haven't made any plans but if I know my little mermaid, we'll be here a while. If I had my way, we'd leave with the tide." "If you had your way, we would have left the day after we got here. I swear you never want to be on land long," Jayde complained. "Pirate," Jack reminded her. "Yeah, like I need any help remembering that. I'm surprised you haven't tried to take Lucius on a raid yet." "Oh don't worry about that Luv, it's coming." "When pigs fly and the sky turns brown." Vixey just shook her head at Jack and Jayde's banter. "Come on you two, let's leave these two to their conversation." As Davy and Lucius followed her out the door, they heard a loud crash followed by a squeal of joy. "Oh yeah, we definitely wanna get away from here," Vixey said as she and Lucius began to jump overboard. "Now hold on, ye don't need to be exerting yourself so much," Davy protested. "It's swimming, I'm not gonna try to lift a boat. Lucius needs to practice his swimming while we are in shallow water. You're more the welcome to join us if you're gonna get bent out of shape about it." Davy decided to ignore her last comment as he followed them into the water. _

_Vixey reveled in the coolness of the water as she sank to the bottom. She noticed that the further along her pregnancy progressed, the quicker her skin dried out. She watched as Lucius struggled to learn how to breathe underwater. Jayde had tried to teach him but as it had been a long time since she had had to learn, she had forgotten. Finally, Lucius' gills fluttered and he took his first breath underwater. Vixey breathed a sigh of relief and watched as Davy floated down and landed beside her. "The Lad learns quick." "He has to, to make up for the human half of him. Whether or not he'll have a tail is unknown. But if he does, only he will know how to find it. My kind have to learn how to use their abilities, the merfolk are born with the instinct how. They have a superiority complex because of it. Normally, Drakel and merfolk don't get along as well as Jayde and I do." "Why is that," Davy asked as he lazily floated beside her. "A long time ago, it is said there was a great war because a mermaid and a Drakel fell in love. When their parents found out, they forbade the young lovers to see each other. But the two eloped. When the mermaid's parents found out, they demanded that their daughter be returned to them. The Drakel's parents told them that they had nothing to do with their daughter's disappearance. To make a long story short, the mermaid's parents declared war. But in the process of the battle, the young couple was killed. Some say they committed suicide so they could be together forever. In any case, who killed them is unknown to this day. Most of the elder merfolk still blame our side, and some of the old Drakel still blame the merfolk." "I thought you were the oldest?" "The oldest available, yes. There are many that are older then me, but once you get a certain age, you become ineligible to become Elder. They are the ones who still hold on to the old beliefs." Davy said nothing more and watched Lucius try to get his bearings. A smile crossed his face as he realized that it wouldn't be long before he would be teaching his children like this. Vixey caught what he was thinking and her heart fluttered as one of the twins kicked. _

_It was a few hours later when they drug themselves out of the water. Lucius headed back to the Pearl while Vixey and Davy headed to their cabin. Davy watched as Vixey removed her wet clothes and braided her long hair before crawling into bed. "Love, I think ye forgot something." "Really? What would that be?" "Yer clothes." "Oh that. I didn't forget, I just felt like being naked for a while. Sometimes my clothes itch. My skin is so sensitive these days." Davy swallowed hard as he weighed his options. He knew he should get above deck and make his rounds but his "other brain" had a few other ideas that were more fun. He was debating in his mind when Vixey's tail snaked out from under the covers and unbuckled his belt. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself on his back, minus his pants, and Vixey sitting on his chest with a 'cat that ate the canary' look on her face. "You looked like you were having trouble deciding what to do so I decided to help you out." "Out of my pants, you mean." _

_Jayde was about to knock on the Captain's door when she heard a squeal followed by a loud thud. The knock forgotten she barged in, thinking Vixey might have fallen. Instead, she found Vixey on top of Davy in a heap on the floor. Vixey was completely naked while Davy at least was wearing a shirt, albeit unbuttoned but he was wearing it. "Do I want to know what happened," Jayde asked as she tossed Davy a blanket. "Well since you asked," Vixey started as Davy wrapped the blanket around them and somehow managed to maneuver them onto the bed. "As you know, when I'm pregnant I'm more, um playful. And I was in one of those moods and someone got a little too playful rolling around on the bed and rolled us right off of it." "Oh, is that all? I thought you might have seriously fallen." Davy was trying so hard not to be mad, more at himself then Jayde. He realized he could have hurt Vixey and the twins if she had been the one on bottom. Without a word, he pulled on his pants and headed above deck. Vixey knew what he was thinking. "I guess I better get dressed and go after him. It's not like it's the first time I've fallen off the bed when I was pregnant." "Yeah, but he doesn't know that. Hey, I didn't know that either. When did that happen?" "Second trimester when I was pregnant with Jim. John was surprised to find me in his bed that night and we just kinda got carried away. I was on the bottom that time. John acted the same way when it happened. It took a long time to convince him I was fine. I finally had to sit on him." "Well, Davy is more stubborn then Silver ever hoped to be. Have fun." Vixey threw on her clothes as she hurried out behind Jayde. _

_When Davy wasn't at the helm she started getting worried. By then night had fallen and she was glad her kind had night vision. She was about to ask one of the crew when out the corner of her eye she caught a feint flicker of light. Almost instantly she smelled the spicy odor of his pipe tobacco and followed the source of it to the man she shared her life with. She knew he was troubled by the look on his face and she slipped behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as she buried her face in his back. "I don't deserve you," came his quiet voice. "Would you stop with that? I'm fine." "But you might not have been, you might have been on the bottom." "Didn't hurt me last time." Davy's next words could barely leave his throat as he turned to face her. "Excuse me?" "When I was pregnant with Jim, John and I were messing around and we fell off the bed and I was on the bottom." "I thought you were only with him the one time." "I never said that, you just assumed. Look, when my kind is pregnant sometimes we get super horny and cant help ourselves. I was only around three people during that time and since I'm not into females and Jack is more like a brother, John was the only option. And believe me, he is a lot heavier then you, or at least he used to be. He's lost a lot of weight lately. Anyway the point is, I'm fine and it's ok for us to continue to do that if we want but if you want to be careful we can roll around on the floor. It's not ok to blame yourself," she said softly as she draped her arms around his neck. Davy sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close against him. "I'm not used to being a husband yet, and I'm even less used to the idea of being a father. You have to give me a wide berth sometimes. I've been set in me ways for a long time and it's gonna take a while yet not to be so paranoid." "You mean stubborn. "Whatever," Davy snorted. _

_A while later into the night still found them wrapped up in each others arms. Davy loved holding his wife in his arms and by now, didn't care if the crew saw him or not. Clanker had made the mistake once of saying something along the lines about the Captain going soft. Davy had overheard and was about to order a flogging when Vixey had talked him into let her talk to the crew. "I know what you must think, seeing us together," she had said. "But I don't want to hear any smart remarks about it. If I hadn't had my say Clanker, you would be getting the flogging of a lifetime. But lucky for you, I stepped in. I have heard all of you at one point or another make wisecracks about your Captain. Your punishment is that for the next day or longer if I see fit, is that you all will cook for yourselves. I will not cook one morsel of food for any of you scurvy dogs. If I catch you trying to steal food out of the kitchen while I am cooking, I will let the Captain have you. Am I clear on this?" "What about stuff you haven't cooked, like apples," Hadras had said "If I haven't cooked it, its up for grabs. The apples, however, for now are out. I plan to be making a pie." They had grumbled over this but decided that it was better the alternative. Since then, they hadn't heard one bit about the Captain going soft. Finally Davy broke the silence. "As much as I would love to stand here all night with you in my arms, I should make me rounds." Vixey was used to his odd hours by now so this didn't surprise her. "Alright, I think I'll get ready for bed. See you in a bit?" "Aye, I'll be there shortly." It was Maccus that found them kissing, it always was for some reason. He knew better then to interrupt them and politely turned his head until he was sure they were through. "What is it, Mr. Maccus," Davy finally said. "Forgive my interruption, but the crew has finished gathering supplies." "Did they remember to pack plenty of fresh fruit?" "Aye Mrs. Jones," Maccus grinned. He was the only one left of the crew who refused to call her by her first name. "Very well then, we will leave at first light," Davy said as he reluctantly let Vixey out of his embrace. "I suppose I should make my own preparations to leave," Vixey sighed before hopping off the side and glided to the beach. Davy wondered what she meant by that. He supposed that she would say her final good byes to Jim and Silver. He was only half right. She had already said her goodbyes but there was one more thing she had to do before she could leave. It wasn't something she wanted to do, more like something she had to, for the safety of her unborn children. As she made her way through the jungle, she kept her eye on the mountain ahead. She could see the beginning of the trail that led to the top and as she started her climb, she knew someone was following her. She didn't have to turn around to see who it was, she could sense him. "What do you want Maccus?" "The Captain asked me to keep an eye on you Mrs. Jones." "If you don't start calling me Vixey once in a while I'm going to start ignoring you. But this is as far as you go." "I'm afraid not. I will do as my Captain orders." "The worst he can do to you is flog you, trust me when I say I can make his worst flogging look like a raindrop. This is something I must do alone." The look in her eyes almost made him reconsider but then he thought about his duties. "Nay, I must do as my Captain commands. While I have no doubt of your powers, I was loyal to him first." Vixey had to admit, she did admire his loyalty. "Alright, but you must promise me no matter what you will do exactly as I say and not interfere unless I ask you to." "I swear by everything I know as a sailor." Knowing his talents, she agreed and they continued up the mountain. "May I ask what are ye doing," came a familiar voice from a nearby stream. They looked to see a very irritated looking Davy glaring mostly at his first mate. "Don't blame him, I wanted to go alone but he refused to abandon his duties you assigned him. As for what we're doing, well I don't know how to explain it but I'm going to perform an ancient Drakel ceremony to insure the twins safety. I've been having so many dream and visions about HER that I have to do something." Davy knew the HER Vixey was referring to. "I'll not let you do anything to harm yourself." "It's a small price to pay if it works." "If it works?" "I've never seen it done before so I don't know if its just an old wives tale or what. I'll try anything." _

_Davy followed the stream all the way to the top of the mountain. Vixey and Maccus had already beat him there and Vixey had pulled out a dagger and what looked like an albatross feather. "I need absolute silence," she said as she began waving the feather over the dagger. It was as if all of nature had stopped. There was absolute silence as she began chanting in a language they had never heard of. Then, before they knew what was happening, she took the dagger and cut a section out of each wing. Davy tried to stop her but it was as if his feet were frozen and his voice was gone. He couldn't move an inch as she raised the sections of bloody wings over her head. "Great Dragon of the Spirits, with my sacrifice I ask that you protect my family from those that would harm us and ensure the safety and well being of my unborn hatchlings." All of a sudden, a bolt of lightning zig zagged across the sky and enveloped Vixey's hands. When the light subsided, Davy was relieved that she was unharmed. Finally, she took the dagger still dripping with her blood and plunged it into the earth. "As it is above, so is it below." All of a sudden, Davy realized he could move and talk again. But he had no time for words as lightning shot out of the sky and struck the hilt of the dagger. He hadn't noticed the dark clouds before but now they were spread across the sky like a blanket. The thunder rumbled as the rain started to fall, slowly at first then turning into a torrential downpour. Vixey's clothes stuck to her like a second skin and her hair was plastered to her skull. But the look on her face was pure glee as Davy noticed the sections she had cut had grown back. "What be this?" With a joyful cry, Vixey ran to the edge of the cliff and dove off, spreading her wings the second before she hit the water. Davy watched her play in the rain and shook his head. "We tell no one of this Maccus, are we clean?" "Crystal, Captain." _

_Davy was waiting for her hours later when she returned to the cabin. As she walked in, she knew there would be questions but she didn't know if she could answer them. "So," Davy said as Vixey began to remove her wet clothes. "What be that just now?" "That, my dear husband, was extra insurance for the safety of our family." "Care to elaborate?" "Fine, but I don't know if I have it right. You know about our wings. If we lose one etcetera it doesn't grow back. But there are some rare occasions that they do. One such occasion is in a selfless sacrifice. If we cut out a piece from each wing with our own hands in exchange for something selfless then they grow back. The thunder and all that was a sign that my offering was accepted." "So what ye are saying is that you don't trust me to take care of out family." "No, Mr. Negativity. What I am saying is that while I trust that you will defend us with all of your power, there are things that none of us can foresee and this is a way to insure that our children will be safe. I don't put anything past HER." Davy knew she was right. Calypso was pissed and anyone on her bad side was in danger. "Alright, so what does this mean?" Vixey yawned and stretched before laying down on their bed, her tail hanging off the bed. Every so often, it made an irritated twitch. "I'm really not sure. All I know is that if the old tales are true, then we will be protected. Now either shut up and join me or go do something else quietly. That little show drained a lot of my energy." Davy smiled to himself, he was used to her mood swings by now and loved to see the fire in her eyes when she was really irritated. "So ye don't want me making noise eh," he said loudly. Vixey rolled her eyes, she knew he liked to rile her up and she also knew what it usually led to but she was just too tired. "Look, I know where you're going and any other time I would go along with it, but I'm just too tired and so not in the mood for this." Davy sat on the bed behind her and leaned over her. "I didn't mean to aggravate ye love, well not much. If ye had just told me ye were so tired I would have left ye alone. I'll leave if ye want me to." Vixey smiled as she looked up into his eyes. She never failed to get lost into his eyes as blue as they were and the way he was looking at her now made her forget her irritation. "Oh for crying out loud. You always know how to get me. It's those eyes of yours." Davy smiled and tenderly ran a hand over her belly. It was getting bigger by the week and now he could see the skin bulge out every so often when one of the twins moved. "Sometimes I still can't believe how lucky I am to have found you in that storm," he said almost too quietly for her to hear. Vixey smiled and laid her hand atop his. "Sometimes luck has nothing to do with it, especially with me. I've always had bad luck but good fate. I think it was our destiny to find each other." "Never believed much in destiny and all that." Davy finally laid his head on the pillow next to her and pulled her against him. Within minutes, both of them were sound asleep._


	27. How Shocking

Vixey awoke to the familiar rocking of a ship at sea and realized they had already left. She also realized she wasn't alone. She could feel someone staring at her before she rolled over. Cat was staring intently at her. "Morning sweetie." "I wanna learn how to fly." "Ok, we got time while we're going to find your father. Davy's gonna have kittens though. So at least it wont be a total loss," Vixey giggled as she got dressed.

Davy was at the helm behind Greenbeard when he spotted Vixey come on deck with Cat trailing behind her. They were deep in conversation but the vibes he was getting from Vixey didn't feel right. His suspicions were confirmed when they started climbing the rigging. "Where do ye think your going," he bellowed as he transported himself to the crows nest above them. "I'm teaching her how to fly." "The hell ye are, get down from there before ye hurt yourself." As they reached the crow's nest, she stood toe to toe with him and glared in his eyes. "First of all, you take that tone with me again and you'll find yourself sleeping alone for a while and second of all, she needs to learn how." Her father will teach her." "Excuse me," Cat's voice piped up, "have you thought about the fact that my father might not want me?" "Now see what ye did? Ye upset the child." "Ugh, come on Cat, we can take off from here," Vixey said ignoring his comment. "Now watch me and do exactly as I do. We'll start with takeoffs and glides." Before Davy could grab her, Vixey jumped off the mast and glided a few feet away before coming back and hovering in the air. "Now you try. Don't worry about hovering, we'll do that later. When you get to the end of the crosspiece, spread your wings and jump. At the same time, picture yourself as light as a feather." Davy glared at her the whole time she was speaking but in reality he was worried that she would fall or that Cat would fall and somehow injure the twins. As he watched Cat prepare to jump off, he caught a reassuring thought from Vixey that he realized was directed to both of them. Time seemed to stand still as Cat ran to the end of the crosspiece and jumped off. They watched as she spread her wings and tried to catch the updraft. The deck got closer and closer and Vixey was about to dive down to catch her when she finally caught the updraft and soared up. She was weaving at first but after a few flaps of her wings she was at the same height as Vixey. "Ok, Little Bit," Vixey said; using the name everyone else had started calling her. "Let's head out to sea a bit." "Hold it right there Little Lady," Davy roared as Vixey and Cat began to leave. Vixey whipped around and opened her mouth to retort. To everyone's surprise, a black flame shot out of her mouth as she growled, "Excuse me?" Davy was stunned. "Um, be careful?" "That's what I thought," she snapped as she turned and headed out to sea.

Davy teleported back down the deck, his jaw still dropped. He could hear the crew's whispers and whipped around to face them. "There'll be none of that yammering about what just happened. Vixey is in an unstable state right now and I don't want anyone mentioning it ever again. If'n I hear any of ye bilge rats discussing it, it'll be 50 lashes and ye be cleanin the Dutchman from top to bottom with yer tongue. Are we clear?"

Meanwhile, Vixey could still feel the tension from her mate but had to put it aside so she wouldn't be distracted. As Cat tested the wind currents, Vixey smiled as she realized it wouldn't be long she would be teaching the twins how to fly. She sighed as remembered the first time she taught Lilly how to fly In her musings however, she failed to notice the dark clouds that were headed their way. That was of course until she felt the rain. Cat was oblivious to the weather as she swooped and soared along the surface of the water. "Come on Cat, we have to get back," Vixey yelled over the howl of the wind that she was sure wasn't there before.

Davy began to worry when the rain started. It was almost as if it came out of nowhere. "Do ye see any sign of them," he yelled. "No Captain, all I can see is the rain," Ogilvy yelled back. "Keep looking." Davy's heart began to race and he realized where it was coming from. He ran to the helm and took over the wheel, trusting on his instinct and the tie they shared to guide him.

Vixey had instructed Cat to fly under her when the lightning started. It was getting harder to see, even with her dragon enhanced sight. They had been dodging the lightning the best they could but there had been a few close calls. Vixey thought they were getting closer, she could feel it, but it was so hard to see. Just as she thought she was gonna have to fly lower, everything went bright. Before she could wonder what it was, her whole body burned, as if in a thousand fires, before going numb. The last thing she remembered was looking up as Cat got smaller and smaller. Then everything went black.

Davy opened his eyes to see the crew staring down at him. "What happened?" Beggin' yer pardon Sir, ye just doubled over before hitting the deck. What happened?" "I don't know, but Vixey's in trouble." At those words, the crew doubled their efforts and the ship began moving faster. As the cut through the rain Davy thought he could see something up ahead. It dropped and rose, almost as if off balance. It was too big to be Cat but still to big to be Vixey. As they got closer he could see he was right and wrong. It was Cat doing her best not to drop Vixey. Davy's heart jumped as Cat barely made it to the ship. Niko was the first to reach them as he took Vixey from Cat's exhausted frame and handed her to Davy before gathering cat up in his arms. Ye did good Little Bit."

Davy cringed when he saw Vixey's burned body. The lightning had singed her hair and her skin and he could still smell the burning flesh. He had ordered that the tub be filled with the coldest water they could find and Jacque had dumped his special salve he used for burns in there as well. As carefully as he could, he lowered her in the water, trusting that her gills would keep her from drowning. When her skin hit the water, he heard a hiss as steam rose up from the tub. As she sank to the bottom, he could see her gills fluttering and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

Davy awoke with a start and cursed himself for falling asleep. He hadn't left Vixey's side in two days and he was starting to get worried that she hadn't woke up. Cat refused to be in the same room with him for fear it was her fault. He finally got Niko to tell her it wasn't. He grumbled to himself as he looked around to see what had woken him up. Nothing seemed out of place until he saw the water on the floor and the tub empty. But he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her stretched out face down on the bed, wrapped in a towel. "I don't want to hear it Davy Jones," came her weary voice. "I wasn't going to say anything. I'm just glad you're awake. We were starting to worry. What happened out there?" Vixey struggled to sit up but grunted and fell back to the bed. She finally turned her head and looked at him. He could see the pain in her eyes. "I don't know. That storm came out of nowhere. I cant be sure but I don't think it was natural." "So ye mean She caused it." "I didn't say that but I was thinking it. Is Cat ok?" "She's fine. She was scared to death for a while that she had caused it. But her shadow took care of it." "Remind me to thank him later. Right now I think I could eat a whole pod of whales." Davy chuckled and called for Bootstrap. As he entered the room, his eyes lit up as he saw her. "Glad you're awake Mate. Let's not get struck by lightning again." "Ha ha, very funny. Next time there's a storm we can use you as a lightning rod." "Mr. Turner, head to the galley and tell Jacques to send up two huge plates." "Aye Sir." "And you can tell the crew I'm awake so they can quit worrying," Vixey said as pulled the sheet over her body. She had just realized she was completely naked and when Bill left she shot Davy an angry look. "You could have told me I was naked BEFORE you called Bill in." Davy chuckled and carefully sat on the bed next to her. Are ye still hurting? I miss touching ye." "So what's stopping you? Just do it carefully." Davy's cool skin felt good. At first he barely touched her but after he saw that it helped her he began rubbing her shoulders. "After we eat do you think we could submerge the ship for a while? The Salt water will help with the healing and the coolness wont hurt either." "Aye, I'll see what I can do Love if you promise me one thing." "I'm not promising that I wont fly again. That would kill me not to fly. And I'm not gonna stop teaching Cat either so what else?" "Promise me that if you are caught in a storm like that again that you will either find shelter or go underwater." " Now that I can promise. Why the option to go under didn't strike me I'll never know. At least we know that the twins are lightning proof. I just feel so stupid." "You're not stupid, a little daft maybe but not stupid." "Oh gee thanks. Tons better. That lightning could have killed us." He didn't need to ask who "us" was. He knew she meant Cat and the twins. "It wasn't your fault that the storm came so quickly. Now stop blaming yourself." Vixey knew he was right and was about to tell him when there was a knock on the door. As Davy went to answer it, he made sure Vixey was covered before he opened the door. "Well, ye look like a crispy crittah' Chile. Didn't yer mom tell ye it ain't smart to fly during a tunda storm?" "Oh stow it jelly man." Jacque smiled, he knew she wasn't mad at him. "Da twins be ok?" "Just fine." "How bout you?" "I'll live." "Dat's de spirit. Now eat up." "Yes mother." As Jacque opened the door to leave, Cat scuttled between his legs and into the room, a breathless Niko behind her. "I'm sorry Captain, I tried to stop her." "She's fine Niko," Vixey called out, daring Davy to say something. Davy sighed and rolled his eyes. "That will be all Coxswain." As he shut the door, he turned around in time to see Cat take a flying leap onto the bed. With her position, Davy knew that she was going to land on Vixey's back and rushed to stop her. But as he reached the bed, Vixey's wings spread over her and caught Cat before she could touch her. "Now what did I tell you about jumping on beds young lady?" "Umm to do it if no one's in it." "Good girl. Your dad's gonna love me." "I hope he loves me." Davy could hear the desperation in the child's voice. "If he's any kind of man, he will."

Cat stayed with them awhile before getting sleepy and heading off to bed. These days she slept either with Niko or with them. Vixey never worried about the child when she was with Niko, he always took care of her as well as his duties. Davy had made the mistake of claiming that the child got in Niko's way but Vixey straitened him out very quickly by reminding him that he could see and hear everything going on the Dutchman and if Niko's duties were being neglected he hid it well. Davy shut up after that. Vixey wondered if he might be a bit jealous. She decided not to worry too much about it when Davy settled into bed beside her. "I love ye, ye know that." "I love you too now shut up and go to sleep." Davy chuckled and carefully wrapped his arms around her waist before drifting off to sleep. Vixey stayed awake a for a while just listening to her husband's snoring and smiled to herself before falling asleep herself. Neither of them noticed the sudden wind that sounded suspiciously like a scream of rage.


	28. Rhaze

The next morning found them almost to Rhaze's island. Vixey could feel the tension on the ship as soon as she woke up. She had already informed the crew not to interfere if something were to happen between her and Rhaze but she had yet to inform Davy. He was, as usual at the helm barking orders. As she walked up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. "We need to talk." "And good morning to you too," Mrs. Jones." "I just woke up, how about keep the snarky comments to yourself for another hour or two." He followed her to a quiet place on deck. "Now, what does my wife need of me?" "I don't know what to expect but I want you to promise me that if something happens that you will let me handle it." "I will do no such thing." "Don't make me put my bitch hat on. Just hear me out." Davy tried to keep from snickering at her hat comment. "Alright, I will listen. But I don't make any promises." "Since he is a counsel member only the Elder can have fighting privileges. You can talk to him but nothing more. If someone else were to interfere with official Elder business, then permanent banishment is only the beginning. And there are no loopholes, not even for me. I could change the law but I would need the unanimous vote of the counsel at the next Gathering. However, if the confrontation gets too much for me I can ask someone to take my place." "But ye wont." "Not unless I feel that I am in danger." Davy sighed in frustration. He knew that if he pushed it, there would be a huge consequence. "Alright, I will trust your judgment. But I am going as close as I can with ye." "Well, you are in luck. The cave he lives in has an opening that connects with the ocean. We can swim or teleport. Well you can teleport. I'll go ahead first and when I give you the signal you can teleport in with Cat." Davy reluctantly agreed and readied themselves to go ashore.

As Vixey swam up into the cave, she kept her senses ready for booby traps. She wasn't disappointed as she broke the surface of the water, she barely missed getting trapped by a large cage. "Well, it seems that someone dares go against the council," came a voice she knew too well. "Hello Rhaze," she said as she turned to face him. "I've been expecting you for a long time Elder," he said as he casually leaned against the wall. Vixey studied him for a minute. Not much had changed, he was still taller then she was but his red skin was mottled with various scars and his black hair had grown past his shoulders. His large red wings were tattered in some places but they looked to be in working order. "Oh please Rhaze its just us here. Besides, I'm not here to lecture you." "I know why you're here. I don't want her." "You don't even know her. At least get to know her. You owe her that much for leaving her mother." "Her mother wanted nothing to do with me once she found out what I was. SHE left ME!" "So you're punishing your daughter for her mother's mistakes? That's the dumbest thing you've ever done, and that's saying a lot about you." Rhaze growled in anger at this but made no move to hurt her. "What about you? You married a human and he killed your offspring." "But I've moved on as you can see," she said as she ran a hand over her swollen belly. "So you got knocked up, big deal." "I also got married." With that, she sent Davy the signal to enter. Rhaze's eyes went wide at the sight. "Wait a minute, are you telling me you married Davy Jones? Oh this is too good." "Your brother thought so too. Matter of fact, he loved the idea so much that at Gathering, he kidnapped me and tried to rape me." Rhaze stopped laughing at this. "Blaze did that?" "Yeah, and if Davy hadn't stopped him, he would have succeeded. By the way, he's banned and wingless." "Nothing less then he deserved. What about my Sire and the others?" "Didn't even show their faces. I sent Orion to update them on things and to make sure your mom and sisters didn't need anything. You know how well your father takes care of them." "Yeah I know. Well anyway lets get a look at you," Rhaze said, motioning to Cat who was hiding behind Davy. Cat slowly crept from behind her shield of Davy's legs and stood in front of Vixey. "She looks like Emma did at that age," Rhaze said; his breath catching. "Emma was the youngest daughter," Vixey explained quietly. "And Blaze killed her for marrying against her fathers wishes." He killed her husband too," Rhaze said with unfallen tears in his eyes. "How long were you planning on staying?" Vixey smiled as Rhaze said this. She knew this was his way of saying he would at least spend time with the child. "We hadn't really made any plans yet. We were gonna wait and see how things went here. I'm glad you agreed to spend time with her. I'd hate to pull out all the Elder cards." "Oh No, not the Elder cards," Rhaze said with mock fear. "And what are the Elder cards," Davy asked with interest. "The Elder cards are not actual cards, its just an old joke. The Elder has certain abilities that no other Drakel have. We get them at the Elder ceremony and lose them when someone else is proclaimed Elder. In any case, I'd rather not use them if I didn't have to."

They spent the majority of the day watching Rhaze and Cat get to know each other and she was touched to see them playing together. It was night before Cat finally fell asleep. As Vixey leaned over to pick her up, Rhaze stopped her. "Would you think any less of me if I told you I still wasn't sure I wanted a daughter?" "I could never think less of you for anything, you know that. I wouldn't be happy about it, but I would be glad to keep her. We've gotten very fond of her and I think Davy's finding out what little girls are like. He only had brothers growing up." "I've often wondered about his history but I don't think I'll ask. In any case, I'm still giving it some thought. I am attached to her though." "As she is of you," Vixey said as she brushed a stray curl off of Cat's sleeping face. "I've been thinking about a lot lately. When I first knew you were coming, I was not happy. Now that you're here with her, well my mind's starting to change. I may even leave the island one day." "Maybe by next Gathering." "Aye, or emergency council meeting." Vixey sighed as she heard this. She had had that very dream the other night and Rhaze had been there. She hadn't told Davy about the dream or about the emergency meetings. Hopefully there wouldn't be a need to. But she was still left with what to do with Cat for the night. She knew she shouldn't be left alone here in case she would wake up but she didn't know if Davy would want to stay here tonight. Her question was answered when she heard Davy ask Rhaze if he would mind if they stayed the night.


	29. Apples

She was laying in the dark with a cold cloth over her eyes when she felt the bed dip. "Before you ask, I was making an apple pie and it reminded me of how Barbossa always smelled like apples and when I was pregnant I couldn't be around him." "I wasn't going to ask about that, I just wanted to know how you were feeling," came Davy's quiet voice as he stroked her distended belly. "I feel like Tortuga's having a party in my stomach and something exploded." "Sounds interesting." "You wouldn't think that if it were you. I'd like to see you be all scary when you're as big as a whale and heaving over the side." "You're not as big as a whale Love, well at least not a full grown one." Not helping," Vixey grumbled as she made a half hearted swat at her husband's arm. Vixey's stomach lurched as she felt him move on the bed. But it suddenly stopped and she found herself in his arms. She could feel his chin resting on top of her head and his clawed arm around her waist. The other one was busy pulling up her shirt. "You'd better be rubbing my stomach," she growled. "I had no other ideas, well none for your current condition. When you're feeling better however," he trailed off. Vixey smiled and snuggled into his warmth. "When I'm feeling better I intend to show you just how much I appreciate you. But for now shut up and get some shut eye before someone needs you." Davy chuckled and kissed the back of her neck as she surrendered herself to the much needed sleep.

It was almost night when she awoke. She was alone and judging by the coolness of the empty spot next to her, had been so for a while. Her stomach growled and as if on cue, Davy appeared with a tray filled with delicious looking fruits and other delectables. "You read my mind, or rather my stomach." "Why do ye think I woke up? It was growling so loud it brought me out of a sound sleep. Not to mention one of the wee ones kept kicking me in the back," Davy said softly as he tenderly rubbed her belly. "How do ye think I feel," Vixey grumbled as she began eating. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Vixey noticed Davy was staring at her. "Do I have something on my face?" "Aye, your gorgeous eyes." "Funny, no seriously. What are you staring at?" "I was just looking at the scar from the lightning. Do ye think the twins will be affected?" "They might have a slight scar other then that I doubt it. There have been rare cases, mostly other elements like wind or what not that the baby absorbs the ability of the element. But its very very rare, maybe one in a billion." Davy's next though was forgotten as someone urgently pounded on the door. "Come in," Davy said angrily, "and it had better be important." Maccus hurridly entered then shut the door immediately behind him. "Captain, you and the Missus might want to think about heading inland." "And Why, pray tell would that be?" "Because Gnasher's jumped ship." "Gnasher?" The young man you found about a week ago on the whaling ship, the one that looks like a barracuda. And why would we want to head inlands because of that? Did he go that way?" "No, but before he left he made some comment about Calypso." Davy's fist clenched at the mention of her name. "What sort of comment?" "How he was helping her and we would all pay." "Big deal Maccus, she's said that herself. Why the urgency?" "Because there's a typhoon headed this way and it's matched every move we make." Davy's mouth went dry. "We could go under," came Vixey's quiet voice. Davy knew she was worried. "Nay, if it is her she will anticipate that and be ready." "Are there any caves near by that are deep enough for the Dutchman?" "Aye Mrs. Jones. There's one up ahead at the end of a river nearby. It might work, with the Captains permission." Davy sighed. "Aye, do it and hurry." As Maccus left, Davy could see the men scurry about as Maccus gave the order. "I must go on deck and oversee this. You will,-" "I will accompany you and not hide in here like a scared little mouse," she growled as she hastily pulled her clothes on. Davy started to argue but the look on her face made him think better of it "Alright, but be careful."

As Vixey came on deck, she could see the typhoon not far behind. She swore she could hear someone laughing in the wind but ignored it. She fell behind some of the crew, securing lines, and whatever else needed to be done. "Why are we heading this way," Niko yelled as he shadowed Vixey so she would be safer. "Because there's a cave we're heading for. That will at least provide some shelter." "OK, why are you above deck where you can hit your head again?" "She's already tried that and it didn't work. I doubt she's stupid enough to try it again." Niko nodded and continued securing lines.

After continuous attempts by the wind and waves to capsize them, they finally slipped under the cover of the cave walls. After several lamps were lit all over the ship, they surveyed the damages. They could still hear the raging winds and waves outside continue, occasionally making the Dutchman rock but only for a minute. "Hopefully she will give up soon," Vixey sighed as she aided the few that were wounded. Clanker had unfortunately been under a boom when it had splintered under wind pressure and fallen to the deck below. He was the worst but even he was expected to make a full recovery. "She never was one to give up easy, especially with something or someone she wants," Davy huffed as he stayed close to her.

It took them the better part of an hour to clean things up and get everything seaworthy again. The storm had slacked up but not enough to leave the cave. Neko had taken up residence at the mouth of the cave in case something else happened. The weather didn't affect him one bit. Vixey watched him with a slight smile on her face as he frolicked like a dolphin through the larger swells. Davy also watched with a strait face but as Vixey turned around to look at him, she could see the smile in his eyes as well as something else. It was a storm like this that she had regained her memories many months ago. Without a word she headed towards the cabin and with a word to Maccus not to be disturbed, he followed her.


	30. The Cliffs of Insanity

When he entered cabin, he noticed it was dark save a few candles. But Vixey was nowhere to be seen. "Love?" "I'm here," came her quiet voice from somewhere in the darkness. "Where are ye?" As she came out of the shadows, he could tell something was wrong. "What is it?" "I don't know. I came in here intending to set the mood and I got a few candles lit and then all of a sudden the biggest feeling of dread came over me. We can't stay in this cave long." Davy was about to object but then he felt what she was feeling and one look into her eyes told him everything. "Alright, we'll figure something out. We should call a meeting i think to hear ideas because right now I'm out." Vixey smiled and laid a hand on his arm. "Me too."

After gathering everyone on deck, Davy told them what was going on. "We all know how it works when Vixey has feelings about something. Any suggestions?" Clanker suggested that Neko eat the ship then leave the cave, which would have been a good idea except Neko's throat wasn't that big. The idea of traveling underwater was brought up again and Vixey briefly considered it. Neko would offer some protection but against a Goddess, well Vixey didn't want to risk his life. Neko and Vixey were connected in more ways then one. What she felt, he felt and vice versa. And if something was to happen to him, well she didn't want to think about what would happen to her as well. Davy caught this thought and found it didn't really surprise him. He knew they were connected but he had no idea how deep it ran. "We can just run and hope we outrun her," Hadras said. "The storm has died down. It could be a trick but this feeling is getting worse. Let's just go. We'll dive once we're out of the cave and haul tail." "But to

where?" Davy was voicing what every one else was thinking. "Drakel Island. It's all but uninhabited. Only a few of the oldest live there. It's about 3 or 4 days journey and if you don't know where you're going you wont find it. Head towards Singapore and then I'll take over from there. For now let's get the hell out of here." "You heard the Lady! Get moving. Way anchor and unfurl the sails. Get moving ye Bilge rats," Davy bellowed.

As they started moving, the cave began to shake. Neko took it upon himself to push the boat faster as large pieces of the cave roof began falling. As they exited the cave, Vixey looked back in time to see the cave collapse exactly where the boat had been docked moments before. "DIVE MEN!" Vixey braced herself against the helm in preparation for the dive. As the ship sank beneath the ocean's surface, Vixey relished the coolness of the water swirling around them. She giggled as she remembered the candles had still been lit.

They had been sailing for about 2 days without further disturbances. Vixey wondered if more was coming but didn't dwell on it. She had sent word by Nibblet to The Pearl and to Silver on where they were heading. Jayde knew the location, as did Silver but Jack had never asked and never wanted to ask. Vixey figured they probably wouldn't come until the babies were born but with those three, who knew. They had long passed Singapore and Vixey had taken over, much to Davy's chagrin. He had heard her when she said she would take over but he didn't think she meant for this long. They were now on top of the water, but shielded from the outside world. Vixey had discovered this particular form of camouflage when she was pregnant with Jim. Unlike her other powers she gained while pregnant, this one she didn't loose once the baby was a certain age. She rarely used it but it suited her needs.

As she looked out over the waters surface, her thoughts kept wondering back to Calypso. Vixey knew she hadn't given up, she could still feel the Goddess' presence. She stiffened as she felt someone come up behind her but relaxed when Davy's tentacled hand fell on her shoulder. She could feel how much he wanted to take her in his arms or at least put his arms around her but couldn't because of the crew as well as Calypso. It seemed like when they even thought about being the least bit intimate, something always happened. The other night Davy had kissed her and a huge wave had swept across the ship, leaving a trail of rotting fish and seaweed in its wake. They hadn't tried it again. "How much further," Davy asked; bringing her out of her musings. "We should be there soon. We haven't passed the cliffs of insanity yet." Davy studied her for a moment, trying to figure out if she was joking. "The cliffs of what?" "You heard me. If you don't know how to steer through them, they can drive you insane. The paths are fixed so that if you go the wrong way it takes you back to the entrance. There are also sea monsters and other traps in case someone does make it through the cliffs. There's also an old sort of magic that keeps anyone not Drakel blood from flying over everything." "Secretive bunch, aren't ye?"

Nothing else was said for another hour as they sailed on. Soon, Vixey saw the cliffs. Vixey headed for the mast and was about to climb when Davy pulled her back down. "What do ye think you're doing?" "Guiding the way, it's quicker. I'll be fine." Without a word Davy let her climb and hurriedly took the helm. As Vixey jumped off the mast and soared, she felt the familiar feeling of her heart leaping in joy. She could feel every breeze and updraft and it made her feel so alive. "Follow my directions and do only what I tell you to do," she called down.

Davy kept a careful eye on her as he steered under her direction. He could see why they were called the cliffs of Insanity. It was tricky to decipher which way to go, a fact that was demonstrated by the shipwrecks littered along the edges. After almost a half hour of sailing, they turned into what looked like a dead end. "Are ye sure this be the way," Davy called up. "No, I've been leading us around in circles for the hell of it," Vixey sarcastically called back. "Just hang on Mr. Impatient." As they got closer, Vixey dove under water. Davy was starting to think she had gotten turned around when the ship as well as the surrounding water and cliffs began to shake. They watched in amazement as the cliff split down the middle and revealed a large tunnel big enough for several ships to pass. Davy turned around as Vixey rocketed out of the water and landed on deck. "Forward ho my Captain," she teased as she closed the jaw that Davy had dropped when the cliff had parted. "You really don't want anyone to visit, do ye?"

As Vixey relieved Greenbeard from the helm, she could feel the essence of islands inhabitants. One look at Davy said he could feel them too. "What is that?" Vixey sighed and closed her eyes," the Old Ones are welcoming us. They are the oldest of us all, far too old to be Elder. The oldest one is said to be almost 2000 years old. Their magic is a different kind then what us normal Drakel's have. There are a few younger Drakel that stay on the island to help out with the manual labor but it's mostly the Old Ones and sometimes a few hatchlings." "I thought you didn't lay eggs?" "We don't but our dragon ancestors did so all infants and young children are called hatchlings." As they went further through the tunnel, they could see lights up ahead. "Those will be the guards, six of them to be precise, just in case someone is lucky enough to get past everything." "Halt! Who goes there?" Vixey peered over the side at the guards who faltered a bit before regaining their composure. "Elder, you honor us with your presence," the first guard said with a bow. "Oh stow it Tobias and move aside," Vixey said with a smile. The guards chuckled and moved aside as the Dutchman continued.


	31. Drakel Island

Davy stood behind her as she steered them further into the tunnel. "Will there be any from the Gathering?" "It's possible. Not all the ones who are here now stay here all the time. The majority of the ones that are here are usually the wingless ones. Some feel that without their wings they are no good to fight. Many of us also come here to die." As Davy let her somber words sink in he kept his eyes peeled for hidden danger.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever to Davy and it made him a bit uneasy. Vixey however was reveling in the feeling of being home and safe. It was a feeling all of her kind knew upon reaching the island. At last it started getting lighter and all at once they broke free of the cave and into the sunlight. Vixey guided the ship as close as they could to the shore. All at once the ship was swarmed with Drakel of all ages. Davy looked alarmed but Vixey only smiled. "They are only welcoming us." All at once, the swarm stopped and the crowd parted as an old Drakel made his way towards them. "Welcome Elder, and welcome to you Captain Jones. We received the council's letter and have been awaiting your arrival. The ocean suite is all prepared for you." "Thank you Kalim. A long rest sounds good after our long journey. I know the way, will you join me Davy?" "Aye, in a bit. I must get the ship secured." "Begging your pardon Captain," Jimmylegs spoke up, "we can handle that If'n ye want to see to your Missus." Davy was surprised at this. His crew never volunteered to do work before. He figured it had something to do with this place. It had a calming effect that even he was feeling by now. "All right Bosun, carry on." He watched with amusement as orders were carried out with out anyone complaining. Finally, he followed Vixey into the cool water.

He was a bit worried when they dove underneath the surface but when they came to a tunnel he calmed down. When they surfaced he gasped in amazement. The room they were in was more beautiful then any he had ever seen. A large clear dome served as their roof. He could see the various sea life swimming by and the sunlight filtering through. There was a large bed in the corner of the room as well as a giant clamshell bed in the water. "Magnificent," he finally said. Vixey smiled at his enthusiasm. "This is my favorite room on the whole island. Everything is preserved by ancient magic. And the glass is one way so we can see out but no one can see in. The Clam bed is new. I guess they added that when they found out we were coming," Vixey said as she tested out the bed. "So what do ye say we break it in," Davy said with a gleam in his eyes.

A few hours later, Vixey had fallen fast asleep. Davy had found it hard to sleep and passed his time by watching Vixey's stomach ripple as one of the twins moved. He had pulled up her shirt a bit to get a better view and was watching with amazement and wonder. That was how Maccus found them.

"Begging yer pardon Captain, I knocked but I didn't hear anything." Davy made a never mind motion with his tentacled hand. "What is it?" "The ship's taken care of and the crew were wanting to explore the island. We've been briefed on the rules of the island and we know what's what." "Alright then, go explore. If ye get in trouble, it's your arse on the line." "Boy do I hate that word," came Vixey's sleepy voice. "What the captain means is that if you screw up, your ASS is grass," she said putting emphasis on ass. "Aye Captain, Mrs. Jones." "Dismissed Mr Maccus." After Maccus was gone Vixey sat up just in time for her stomach to growl. "Someone's hungry. Good thing the galley has a wet bar." "A what," Davy said looking bewildered. "Basically you can sit in the water and eat. There's a lot of us that don't like to be out of water much so when this place was built they made it so you could get from place to place either by walking or swimming." "Isn't that handy. Well, let's try it out then.


	32. Author's Note

OK I'm sorry this isn't a story update but I just figured I would let you know what's going on with me. It's really hectic right now with the holidays, me trying to find a job and preparing for the birth of my neice at the end of December/begining of Janury. I haven't forgotton about this story, I promise. I am working on it and I hope to have a new chapter up soon. Sorry the last chapter was so short, I didn't realize it til I looked at it.


	33. The Unexpected

A few minutes later found them lounging in the cool water enjoying the islands' cuisine. They weren't the only ones either. Jimmylegs, Hadras and Clanker weren't too far away. "This place is amazing," Hadras said as he swam over to them. "Yeah, it's been around for thousands of years and hasn't really changed much. A little updates sometimes to keep up with the changing world, but that's about it." Vixey had eaten her meal as though she hadn't eaten in months. Davy had laughed when she ordered seconds but didnt say a word when she ordered thirds. With a full belly, she was starting to feel that sleepy feeling usually accompanied by a large meal. Suddenly Vixey found that she couldn't keep still. She enjoyed being in the water but at the same time wanted to get out. She couldn't figure out what she wanted. It wasn't time for her to give birth yet so that couldn't be it. Davy could feel the confusion emulating from her. "What's wrong?" She shook her head as she headed towards the side of the pool. "I don't know. I feel strange. It's like I'm being pulled in two different directions. Part of me wants to stay here and just float but the other part of me cant wait to get out." "Maybe ye need to fly a bit," Davy said sounding hopeful. "I remember feeling this way when I was pregnant with Jim. I couldn't keep still. I either walked, flew or cleaned. It didn't last long, maybe a month at the most but it drove me and everyone else around me crazy." "I don't know what to tell you. There's nothing really to clean but we can fly or walk on the ocean floor all you want. Kalim said to tell you that there's a gathering later on for expectant parents if you want to go. I think I would very much like to go."

It touched Vixey's heart to hear his say this. Damned hormones made her so emotional over everything and this was no exception. "Sounds good to me. I was just thinking though, technically since most of this place is under water does or has water tunnels does it still count as land?" "I suppose not. What were ye thinking about?" "Taking a tour of this place, and I kinda wanted to go see the nursery." Davy smiled as she placed her hand in the crook of his arm. "Then we shall go look, I want to see how much security we will need."

As they walked down the halls, admiring the underwater view, Vixey found that she never felt so comfortable. She felt safe and at home, a feeling she had recently only associated with The Dutchman. She mentioned this to Davy and he confirmed the feeling. "This truly be a powerful place," he said in amazement, "It's not just anywhere that can make me feel this way. I feel as if I'm welcome here, like I belong." Vixey smiled and patted his arm. "It's part of the magic. If you come here with good intentions, you will feel welcome, safe and peaceful. If you come with bad intentions, you'll be in hell for your entire stay. You will be filled with dread, and you will feel as though the weight of the ocean was crushing you. You will have trouble breathing or doing anything normal. Its our way of ensuring that there is peace. This place is sacred to us, it's our home and our safe haven. We protect it with our lives, much like our children."

When they finally reached the nursery, they started mentally noting where they would put extra security. Vixey noticed that out of all the cradles surrounded by loving parents, there was one in the corner with no one. Davy noticed where she was looking and as she peered in, he asked the nurse about the child.

The baby was jet black in color with a sprinkling of black hair. The card on the cradle had no name or parents listed. It was then that Vixey noticed it was blue with a black flower in the corner. The blue meant that it was a boy but the black flower meant that it had no parents. He was sleeping but as she leaned over, he opened his eyes. Vixey was surprised to see that they were red. Red eyes were common enough among her people but she had never heard of any who had them at birth. Like most babies, their kind were born with blue eyes. As she leaned down, he seemed to smile a bit and as she picked him up, he cooed. "That's the first time I've seen any reaction out of him that wasnt negative," the nurse said. Davy was right behind her. "Tell her about his parents." The nurse sighed before she spoke. "His mother was raped by Blaze. She killed herself not too long after he was born, said he looked like his father. We're trying to find someone to adopt him but the ones that want to, can't and the others want nothing to do with Blaze or his offspring. We will never let him know he has a child." Vixey nodded," agreed. If Blaze were ever to find out, he would corrupt this child in a heartbeat." She knew what she wanted to say but wasn't sure she could say it. "I think for the time being, we will take the child," Davy's soft voice said; beating her to it. The nurse looked at Vixey for confirmation. Vixey could only nod, touched by his words and at the feelings coming from him. As they went through the information about the baby, Vixey's mind was in a whirl. She had known as soon as she looked at him, who's child he was. What would happen if Blaze found out about him? "The mother named him Bane before she died but I have a feeling you will want to change that," the nurse said as the baby was wrapped in a blanket. "You got that right," Vixey said angrily. "I'm thinking about Zorn. It means 'blessing' in our ancient language." "I like that name,"Davy smiled as he tickled the child's chin. With Zorn in tow, they were finally ready to continue their tour.


	34. Authors note :(

Ok here's the deal...my hard drive crashed...my computer is in the shop and as of now I have no idea if my documents will be able to be recovered. im attempting to write from memory but it is extremely slow going. the only stories i have are the ones i have published but i dont have any of the updates I had already written. Please bear with me, the story will continue, I promise! Thanks for all who are still with me. I love you guys! 3


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